The Proposed Amendments remain open for public comment until November 15. A separate requirement under the Announcement, however, took effect immediately: companies exporting technologies listed in Annex 1 to the Announcement (each, a “Covered Technology”) must register the relevant transactions with MOFCOM before export (the “Interim Registration Requirement”). This requirement also applies to exports that began before October 16 but have not yet been completed.

A.What Is Changing?

1. The Proposed Amendments at a Glance

The Catalogue is part of China’s technology import and export regime under the Foreign Trade Law and the Regulations on the Administration of Technology Import and Export. This regime is separate from the export control regime under the Export Control Law and the Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items. A single transaction may require review under both regimes. The technology export regime distinguishes between three categories:

(i) Prohibited technologies: exports are not permitted;

(ii) Restricted technologies: exports require a government license; and

(iii) Unrestricted technologies: exports are generally permitted, although technology export contracts may be subject to separate registration requirements.

The Proposed Amendments would add 40 technologies to the Catalogue: 23 in AI (including large models, AI agents, computing clusters, AI-related chip design, and certain information-processing technologies), 5 in biopharmaceuticals (including cell and gene therapy, small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs, and pathogenic microorganisms), and 12 in solar power (including polysilicon, wafer, and photovoltaic-cell manufacturing and certain key and core equipment). Of these, 14 would be prohibited and 26 restricted. These proposed entries cover specific technical capabilities; their scope does not automatically extend to every product manufactured using those technologies.[2]

The Proposed Amendments also provide exclusions for specified activities and introduce an “Automatic Licensing” process for certain restricted technologies. MOFCOM has indicated that, for qualifying transactions, this process would essentially operate on a “file-and-export” basis, but the detailed procedures have not yet been published. These exclusions and the Automatic Licensing process are intended to facilitate international collaboration, but whether they are available in a particular case depends on the technology and the transaction.[3]

2. The Immediate Issue: Registration Before Export

From October 16, 2026, until the revised Catalogue takes effect, exporters must register transactions involving any Covered Technology before export. Exporters are responsible for determining whether a transaction falls within the scope of the Interim Registration Requirement, which applies to four categories of activity:

(i) transferring ownership of a Covered Technology to an overseas party, including through an intellectual property (“IP”) assignment;

(ii) licensing a China-based Covered Technology for use overseas;

(iii) changing the ownership or actual control of a China-based Covered Technology so that an overseas entity becomes its owner or actual controller; and

(iv) other circumstances for which MOFCOM expressly requires export registration through notices or other official communications.

The foregoing registration requirement also applies to exports that began before October 16, 2026, but had not yet been completed as of that date.

B.What Does This Mean for Foreign Companies?

The Interim Registration Requirement now makes a change of owner or actual controller of a China-based Covered Technology an express registration trigger. In addition, once the revised Catalogue takes effect, exporting a prohibited Covered Technology, or exporting a restricted Covered Technology without a license, may lead to confiscation of illegal gains, fines of up to five times those gains, and potential criminal liability[4].

In practice, technology export controls, alongside other regulatory tools, have also been used to affect deal execution or even block deals. In 2020, while the proposed sale of a short video platform’s U.S. operations was under negotiation, China added personalized information recommendation/push technology based on data analysis to the Catalogue, making exports of that technology subject to export licensing. In January 2026, MOFCOM said it would assess an acquisition involving an AI agent developer that had moved its headquarters from China to Singapore. The assessment would be conducted under China’s laws and regulations governing export control, technology import and export, and outbound investment. In April 2026, China’s foreign investment security review office prohibited the deal and ordered the parties to unwind it.

Against this backdrop, foreign companies should carefully assess the potential impacts of the Proposed Amendments.

1. Joint Research and Development (“R&D”), Global Collaboration, and Biopharmaceutical Licensing

The Proposed Amendments may affect joint R&D and co-development with Chinese partners. A foreign company may contribute funding, computing resources, or technical expertise to a project in China, expecting the results to be used or commercialized globally. For example, many foreign companies operate R&D centers in China that support global products, platforms, or research programs. China-based employees may develop technology owned by a foreign parent, assign IP to an overseas affiliate, or provide know-how to engineering teams in the U.S. or Europe. Such arrangements may fall within the scope of the Interim Registration Requirement, which expressly covers transfers of technology ownership, licenses for overseas use, and changes in ownership or actual control in favor of overseas entities. This may be the case even where an arrangement is internal to the group or does not involve a standalone technology export agreement. The key question is whether the arrangement involves a transfer of ownership of, a license for overseas use of, or a change of the owner or actual controller of, any Covered Technology. The answer depends on the substance of the rights granted or transferred and the technical materials provided, not on the contract’s title.

Specifically, in the biopharmaceutical sector, the Proposed Amendments would add five technologies to the Catalogue: three classified as prohibited and two as restricted. These technologies relate to cell and gene therapy, small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs, and pathogenic microorganisms.[5]

a. Prohibited technologies. Three technologies would be classified as prohibited: (i) proprietary technology process platforms for cell and gene therapy, (ii) proprietary technology process platforms for siRNA drugs, and (iii) artificial genetic modification and directed passaging technologies that enhance the function of pathogenic microorganisms. For (i) and (ii), the prohibition would apply only to transfers of ownership. Out-licensing and contract research, development, and manufacturing services (CRO/CDMO) would fall outside the scope of control, provided that they do not involve a transfer of ownership. The exclusions for (i) and (ii) would also cover the technologies and processes needed for a specific drug’s R&D, testing, production, quality control, marketing authorization, and regulatory compliance in the course of foreign cooperation or business development. The Proposed Amendments define a "technology process platform" as reusable, cumulative technology capable of supporting the development of multiple drugs. Single-product process technology does not constitute such a platform. Technology (iii) would not benefit from these exclusions, and its export would be prohibited regardless of the transaction structure.

b. Restricted technologies. Proprietary technologies for discovering and validating novel targets for (i) cell and gene therapy and (ii) siRNA drugs would be classified as restricted. A novel target is one not yet publicly disclosed anywhere in the world. Automatic Licensing may be available for exports of these technologies (a) through out-licensing or joint R&D using overseas resources or (b) for purposes of responding to public health emergencies or providing humanitarian relief. Unlike the platform entries, these entries contain no general exclusion for technologies used in single-product collaborations.

2. Acquisitions, Investments, and Corporate Restructurings

The Announcement may also affect certain acquisitions, investments, and corporate restructurings, not just conventional licensing transactions. This issue is particularly important where a foreign investor plans to integrate a Chinese target’s technology into a global platform, move development work overseas, or consolidate IP ownership under a foreign holding company. Investors should screen for potential technology export issues during due diligence, assess the proposed post-closing ownership and control structure, and consider contractual protections addressing regulatory filings and allocating the risks if a planned technology transfer cannot proceed.

3. AI Models: Moving the Technology Versus Providing a Service

MOFCOM has indicated that exporting underlying AI technology is distinct from making AI capabilities available to overseas users. For certain restricted AI models, exporting the model itself for overseas deployment may constitute a technology export, although Automatic Licensing may be available where the risks are relatively controllable, such as deployment on the exporter’s own overseas cloud. By contrast, using a restricted large model to provide application programming interface (“API”) access, website or app interactions, software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) offerings, or lightweight on-device deployment would generally fall outside the scope of large-model technology export controls. Models trained on certain categories of data are, however, subject to separate entries. The Proposed Amendments would prohibit the export of large models trained on China’s “core data” (as classified under China’s data security framework) and used to provide services, and would restrict the export of those trained on “important data” and used to provide services, subject to limited exceptions. It is not yet clear whether the service-based exclusion described above would extend to these models.

The large-model thresholds in the Proposed Amendments are also important. A model would be classified as restricted if it meets any of three criteria: training compute of at least 10²⁶ floating-point operations, at least two trillion parameters, or a top-10 global ranking in mainstream evaluations. A model that falls below both numerical thresholds could therefore still be classified as restricted under the ranking criterion.

The Proposed Amendments exclude AI technologies that have already entered the public domain through open-source release, academic publication, or other means.

4. Solar Manufacturing Outside China

Of the 40 proposed entries, 12 concern solar manufacturing. Solar manufacturing projects outside China may rely on Chinese production lines, equipment, and process know-how. The Proposed Amendments cover not only process technology for polysilicon, wafers, and cells, but also key and core equipment that embodies the relevant technology. According to MOFCOM, only a small number of key equipment items are listed, and they are covered only where they embody technology that meets the relevant control thresholds; other solar equipment is, in principle, outside the scope of the Announcement.[6] Buyers should ask whether their Chinese suppliers have completed any required registration, whether the technology that comes with a production line requires an export license, and which party bears the risk of regulatory delays.

C.What Should Companies Do Now?

Although the Proposed Amendments remain subject to public comment, the Interim Registration Requirement is already in effect. Companies with AI, biopharmaceutical, or solar-power technologies originating from China should consider the following steps.

1. Screen technology, not just products

Map China-based R&D, technical know-how, model files, and manufacturing processes against the specific entries in the Announcement. Product names and broad business descriptions alone may not be sufficient to determine whether a technology is covered.

2. Review transactions already under way

The Interim Registration Requirement expressly covers transfers, licenses, and changes in ownership or actual control involving any Covered Technology, including those that are under way but have not yet been completed.

3. Review group-internal arrangements

Check IP ownership, intercompany licenses, R&D and services agreements, and transfers of technical materials to overseas affiliates. An internal transfer may fall within the Interim Registration Requirement even in the absence of a third-party license agreement.

4. Build technology-export checks into investment and deal processes

For acquisitions, investments, and restructurings, assess the target’s technology and the intended post-closing ownership and control structure. For licensing and collaboration agreements, distinguish ownership transfers from licenses and service arrangements.

5. Consider submitting comments

The consultation on the Proposed Amendments runs until November 15, 2026. Comments on the proposed scope, thresholds, exclusions, and Automatic Licensing mechanisms may help clarify issues relevant to multinational R&D and cross-border transactions.

D.Conclusion

The Announcement matters not only to Chinese companies licensing IP abroad, but also to foreign companies that develop technology in China, invest in Chinese businesses, or rely on cross-border R&D. The immediate priority is to identify any Covered Technology and, where required, complete registration for transactions already under way. If adopted, the Proposed Amendments may also shape IP ownership, global AI deployment, biopharmaceutical licensing, and the integration of Chinese technology into worldwide operations. For businesses with substantial China-based R&D or technology portfolios, technology-export analysis should begin at the investment or transaction-planning stage.

[Notes] 

[1] MOFCOM and Ministry of Science and Technology, Announcement No. 48 of 2026, Public Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export and Interim Pre-Export Registration for Relevant Technologies (Oct. 16, 2026), https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2026/art_0a31a3c9ac404f7a9b0e917ce3412997.html.

[2] MOFCOM, Spokesperson’s Q&A on the Proposed Revision of the Catalogue (Oct. 16, 2026), https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/syxwfb/art/2026/art_a4acff07e134447fbe7bbeb486df3ea6.html.

[3] MOFCOM Q&A, supra note 2 (describing qualifying Automatic Licensing cases as broadly “file-and-export”).

[4] Foreign Trade Law (revised Dec. 27, 2025), art. 73, http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2/c30834/202512/t20251227_450709.html.

[5] Announcement No. 48, supra note 1, Annex 1, biopharmaceutical entries and the related notes. See also MOFCOM Q&A, supra note 2 (describing Automatic Licensing for the novel-target entries).

[6] MOFCOM Q&A, supra note 2 (addressing listed solar key and core equipment and pre-export registration).