China’s DeepSeek and MiniMax have reportedly become the first AI developers to complete export registration under Beijing’s newly drafted rules for artificial intelligence technology.
The approvals let both companies open-source their models and authorize their use overseas.
What happened and how fast
On October 16, 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology released draft revisions and opened public comment on a catalogue of 23 AI-related technologies restricted from export.
About a week later, the first registrations arrived. DeepSeek and MiniMax announced on October 22, 2026, that they had completed registration for open-sourcing their AI technologies. The news spread through state media-affiliated social media posts on October 22 and 23.
According to Reuters, the proposed controls cover overseas deployment of AI models that contain restricted technology. The news agency described the move as Beijing’s latest effort to limit the transfer of tools it views as vital to national security amid geopolitical competition with Washington.
The fine print that keeps the doors open
The draft rules leave plenty of room to operate. Two details stand out.
The first is a fast lane for open source. Open-source AI technologies may qualify for accelerated automatic licensing under the new regulations.
The second is that API access and software-as-a-service offerings fall outside the scope of regulated exports. If a foreign customer reaches a Chinese model through an online interface, rather than downloading the model itself, that service can keep running internationally.
State media have presented the structure as a way to bring regulatory clarity rather than to impose stringent restrictions. Under the framework as described, most AI technologies remain freely exportable.
Why DeepSeek and MiniMax went first
DeepSeek is arguably the Chinese AI lab most familiar to global audiences. Its openly released models helped make the case that Chinese developers could compete at the frontier.
The company has also recently closed a significant private funding round. Being first through a new regulatory gate is not a bad look heading into the next phase of growth.
What this means
For AI developers inside China, the early approvals offer a template. The path to releasing models globally now runs through registration, and the first two cases suggest it can move fast, especially for open-source projects that may qualify for automatic licensing.
For overseas businesses already using Chinese models through APIs or cloud services, the immediate disruption looks limited. Those channels sit outside the regulated scope, so existing integrations should not need to be rebuilt simply because of these rules.
The bigger questions concern the 23 restricted technologies. The catalogue remains a draft open for public comment, and its final shape will decide how much room future models have.
The things to watch are the final catalogue, how quickly other developers follow DeepSeek and MiniMax through registration, and whether the API and SaaS carve-outs survive the comment period intact.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.