China imposes travel curbs to protect ‘national security’ amid superpower tech race

China imposed sweeping travel restrictions on its citizens on Tuesday, including exit bans on those deemed to endanger the country’s “industrial or technological security”.

Citizens who violate technology import and export regulations could be banned from leaving China, the State Council said.

Those who engage in illegal activities abroad could be “prohibited from leaving the country for a period of six months to three years from the date of their return to China”.

China and the United States have been locked in a tech race, with both sides accusing the other in recent months of stealing the capabilities of locally developed artificial intelligence models.

The new rules, first released in July but in effect from Tuesday, were formulated to “safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests”, the State Council said.

‘Wide remit’

However, analysts warn that the travel rules give China a “wide remit”.

Security and criminal activities “can be vaguely defined and easily adjusted”, Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore told AFP.

“The outside world will only know how it applies that remit after there are cases of implementation,” he said.

Chong pointed to reports of exit bans on foreign nationals, including the recent case of US citizen Min Zin.

The US government has said the political analyst was taken into Chinese custody in Yunnan province on June 3 and was held improperly.

China refuted the accusations in August, saying Min Zin was suspected of violating Chinese law.

“The case of Min Zin is a reminder that the range of people (that China) could restrict from exiting could be quite wide — and potentially arbitrary,” Chong said.

Dylan Loh, an associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told AFP the travel restrictions “send a message” that China will take action to prevent “leaks in security or national interest-sensitive areas”.