China has made strengthening export control rules and safeguarding supply-chain resilience top priorities this year, as officials move to secure the nation’s economic interests amid rising geopolitical friction.
The Ministry of Commerce said it would enhance legal frameworks and risk prevention and tighten the “safety net for opening up” as one of eight core work areas, according to a statement released on Sunday after its annual work conference in Beijing.
China has increasingly used export controls to protect national security and critical technologies amid trade, supply-chain and diplomatic disputes.
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On Thursday, the ministry announced a review of Meta Platforms’ US$2.5 billion acquisition of Manus, which developed its products in China, to determine whether the deal complies with export control and technology transfer rules.
The Chinese-founded artificial intelligence (AI) agent start-up relocated to Singapore – and reportedly laid off most of its Beijing staff – last year, in a move widely seen as a bid to access more overseas funding and clients.
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As China’s race with the US for AI supremacy accelerates, analysts have said the review signalled a tightening of oversight on foreign stakes in sensitive technologies, even as founders move operations abroad to sidestep geopolitical scrutiny.
Beijing also recently announced a ban on dual-use exports – goods with both commercial and military applications, such as drones and rare earth elements – to military end users in Japan amid a protracted diplomatic row with Tokyo.
