The US-China technology rivalry continues to intensify, and the Chinese government’s protection of core technologies has expanded from restricting exports of semiconductor hardware to fully extending to control of the “human brain.” According to a Bloomberg report on May 26, Chinese authorities are systematically expanding exit controls on top AI talent, and the measures have already spread to Alibaba Group and AI startups. DeepSeek and other private companies. Core personnel must obtain official approval before leaving the country, and some senior executives and researchers are even required to hand over their passports to the company for safekeeping.
Control measure details: based on the principle of “individual strategic importance.”
Unlike the earlier sporadic controls targeting state-owned institutions or isolated cases, Chinese authorities have now systematically expanded exit controls to a broader range of private enterprises. Alibaba and DeepSeek core personnel are reportedly among those affected. AI talent deemed to have “strategic importance” must obtain official approval before leaving the country. More notably, affected individuals are often required to hand over their personal passports to their employers for centralized safekeeping, with the official rationale being the prevention of leaks of national strategic or commercial secrets. The targets are not determined simply by job title or company, but by “individual strategic importance,” covering AI startup founders, core researchers, and senior executives.
This measure was not entirely without warning. As early as March 2025, Singaporean media reported that DeepSeek had imposed strict restrictions on employees traveling abroad, with some staff required to hand over their passports. At the time, observers speculated the move was aimed at preventing technology leaks or responding to international regulatory pressure. Now that the practice has expanded from a single company like DeepSeek to large private conglomerates such as Alibaba, it indicates the policy has escalated from “corporate self-governance” to “systematic state-level control.”
Background and Motivation: Preventing Talent Drain and Countering U.S. Dominance in AI
Behind this strict control is Beijing’s urgency to protect advanced technologies and counter U.S. dominance in AI. Under the dual pressure of successive U.S. tightening of AI chip export controls, the Chinese government’s core objectives are to prevent technology leakage, curb brain drain, and protect intellectual property.
Recent data show that the outflow of AI talent from China to the United States has fallen sharply, indicating that the two sides have already been locked in a struggle to attract talent. This new round of controls further defines AI talent as a “national-level asset,” mirroring the logic applied to advanced semiconductors. Previously, the founder of Manus AI was already an individual precedent for similar exit restrictions; this time marks a broader policy expansion.
The escalation of this “talent war” has a structural backdrop. In early 2025, DeepSeek stunned the global AI community with its R1 model, proving that Chinese AI firms could overcome constraints through software optimization despite U.S. chip sanctions—delivering performance on par with OpenAI o1 at a fraction of the cost. In April 2026, DeepSeek went further by releasing a preview of V4, taking the lead in reasoning performance and Agent capabilities. These breakthroughs have led the Chinese government to place even greater emphasis on the “strategic value” of AI talent, and have clarified the logic behind tighter controls: if talent is the key to breaking through technological blockades, then preventing such talent from leaving becomes a national security priority.
Industry Concerns: The Cost of International Cooperation and Innovation Capacity
However, critics strongly fear that physically isolating researchers will severely undermine international technological cooperation, even deter overseas talent from returning, and ultimately slow down the overall pace of China’s AI development. For investors, this policy further highlights potential risks in the Chinese AI industry regarding cross-border transactions, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and high-level talent recruitment. This move also aligns with the Chinese government’s broader direction in recent years of tightening control over “strategic industries” and complements state efforts to support domestic AI enterprises such as DeepSeek.
In terms of practical impact, AI research relies heavily on international exchange. Most top-tier academic conferences—such as NeurIPS, ICML, and ACL—are held overseas, so restricting core researchers from traveling abroad means cutting them off from direct interaction with the global AI community. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng had previously been reported absent from the Paris AI Summit. Although the reason could not be confirmed at the time, such absences are likely to become the norm against the backdrop of the new policy.
China-U.S. tech decoupling continues to deepen.
As the talent war escalates across the board, the technology decoupling gap between China and the U.S. is expected to keep widening. China still has a chance to take the lead in the AI race, thanks to advantages such as ample power supply, leadership in open-source models, and strong manufacturing capabilities. However, “exit controls” are a double-edged sword: while they protect talent from being poached, they may also obstruct the normal channels of technological exchange.
Going forward, several issues will require continued attention: whether China will further tighten the scope of restrictions and the number of companies affected, how much real impact this will have on the international partnership capabilities of fast-growing AI firms such as DeepSeek, and whether other countries will further restrict the overseas operations of Chinese AI companies on the grounds of “talent blockade.” What is certain is that, at a time when AI has been treated by China as a “national strategic asset,” the free flow of talent is becoming the latest casualty in geopolitical rivalry.
Source: KOCPC Chinese