China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology issued Announcement No. 48 on October 16, 2026 proposing revisions to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export. The draft would add 40 technologies across artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and photovoltaics, and the ministries opened a public comment window running through November 15, 2026.
According to the MOFCOM announcement, the artificial intelligence tranche covers 23 items spanning large models, intelligent agents, computing clusters, and information-processing technologies. Technologies already in the public domain through open source or academic publication are stated as outside the managed scope. Biomedicine adds five items covering cell and gene therapy, small nucleic acid drugs, and pathogenic microorganisms, with facilitation for certain licensing models that do not transfer ownership. Photovoltaics contributes twelve items around polysilicon, wafer, and cell manufacturing, including key equipment that carries the listed technology.
Alongside the consultation, the announcement imposes interim pre-export registration. From publication until the revised catalogue is formally issued and takes effect, operators planning to export listed technologies must register on MOFCOM's technology trade management system before proceeding. Incomplete exports already underway also fall within the registration duty. Covered scenarios include ownership transfers abroad, outbound licensing, and changes of ownership or control to overseas parties, plus other cases MOFCOM may notify.
Reuters reported the proposal the same day, highlighting large models, agents, and computing clusters as core AI industry building blocks amid U.S.-China technology rivalry. A separate ministry statement described the revision as routine and not aimed at any specific country, region, or entity. English-language explainers from AI Affairs and AP restated the forty-item split and the temporary registration requirement.
The central verified event is a formal Chinese government consultation plus interim registration for export of specified AI and related technologies, not a finalized permanent catalogue rewrite. Final scope, thresholds, and enforcement details may change after comments. Operators and partners transferring sensitive AI tooling, agent stacks, or cluster know-how involving Chinese parties should treat registration as effective now for listed annex technologies while tracking the November 15 consultation close. Exporters should read annex definitions carefully before assuming a capability is covered or exempt, especially where open publication boundaries are contested.