中国政府已扩大针对民营企业顶尖人工智慧与晶片领域高阶主管的出境旅行限制,将限制范围进一步延伸至其配偶及子女等直系亲属。这类关键人才的核心工作被视为攸关国家安全,如今即使是短期出国行程,其家属亦须事先取得北京当局的批准,旨在严防关键技术与机密资讯外流至美国。
过去北京主要针对国有企业高管、顶尖高校学者及核能科学家实施出境管控,但如今首度将监管重心聚焦于私营科技部门。由于后ChatGPT时代涌现的顶级AI人才多任职于阿里巴巴、DeepSeek等科技巨头或新创企业,这些精英已被官方视为国家的战略资产,相关通知已陆续下发给特定初创公司创办人与行业领袖。
此项新规标志著对中国最具影响力科技人才迁徙自由的进一步收紧,可能对正面临严峻挑战的本土科技界产生更深层的寒蝉效应。特别是在Meta收购Manus事件引发技术外流担忧后,官方强化了对敏感领域的保护措施,这项限制恐将迫使怀抱全球发展抱负的工程师在职业生涯早期面临留守国内或移居海外的两难抉择。
China has expanded overseas travel restrictions on top AI and chip executives at private companies to include their direct family members, such as spouses and children. Key personnel deemed essential to national security must now secure government approval before their immediate relatives can travel abroad even for short trips, as Beijing intensifies efforts to curb the outflow of critical know-how and data to the US.
While foreign travel curbs have long applied to state-owned enterprise executives, prominent academic researchers, and nuclear scientists, authorities are now explicitly focusing on talent within the private sector. The majority of top-tier AI specialists in the post-ChatGPT era work at tech giants like Alibaba and DeepSeek or private startups, making these elite engineers vital strategic assets for the world's second-largest economy.
The broadening of these restrictions further curtails the mobility of China’s most prominent tech innovators, likely creating a chilling effect across a technology industry already under severe regulatory pressure. Heightened by concerns over technology leaks following deals like Meta's acquisition of Manus, the policy may compel globally ambitious engineers to choose between staying in China or relocating abroad earlier in their careers.