CHINA VOICES | A Chinese view of AI export controls

This week, TechNode’s translation column gets into the weeds with export controls, with an abridged translation of a deep-dive on AI export controls. TechNode has not independently verified the claims made below. This article was co-translated by Jordan Schneider.

The trade war may (nominally) be at a pause, but the US-China “tech war” is far from over. Over the past several years, both countries have sought to “decouple” from each other, unwinding the complex technology supply chains that bind them together and make them interdependent. The latest salvo from the US was a Jan 6 announcement restricting the export of AI software that can automate geospatial imagery analysis.

This new regulation might sound awfully specific—and it is—but it matters for two reasons. Firstly, it comes on the heels of much buzzed about ongoing review of how the US restricts the export of “emerging technologies.” Despite fears of a sweeping ban on such technologies, this initial restriction has proven remarkably targeted.

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