China now requires families of some top AI and chip executives to get approval before travelling abroad, Bloomberg reports

China has widened its overseas travel curbs on top AI talent at private companies to cover their families, Bloomberg reported, according to The Standard in Hong Kong and The Next Web. Under the rule, the spouses and children of certain AI and chip executives whose work Beijing considers vital to state security must get approval before going abroad, even for short trips, Bloomberg reported.

The government has recently begun notifying the people affected, among them startup founders and heads of strategically important AI companies, and plans to add names over time, Bloomberg reported, according to The Standard. Bloomberg's sources were people familiar with the matter. It is not clear whether the families of everyone already under the curbs must comply.

The step is not an outright travel ban, The Next Web noted. It builds on restrictions on top AI staff at private firms such as Alibaba and DeepSeek in place since earlier this year, according to The Next Web. Bloomberg reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

The aim is to keep critical know-how from flowing to the United States, according to the report. Both open outlets set the move beside Beijing's order to unwind Meta's purchase of the AI startup Manus, though Bloomberg reported that the travel plan is not necessarily linked to Manus, according to The Next Web. Bloomberg's own article could not be opened from here.

• Reported Spouses and children of certain AI and chip executives need Beijing's approval to travel abroad, even briefly, Bloomberg reported, according to The Standard. The Standard
• Reported The step extends earlier curbs on AI staff at private firms such as Alibaba and DeepSeek, Bloomberg reported, according to The Next Web. The Next Web