Chinese authorities have expanded overseas travel restrictions affecting some of the country’s top artificial intelligence and semiconductor professionals to include their immediate family members, according to a new Bloomberg report.
Spouses and children of some executives whose work is considered important to national security are now reportedly required to obtain approval from Beijing before traveling abroad, even for short trips.
The development comes as China is also intensifying tax scrutiny of high-income and high-net-worth individuals, including their overseas investments and offshore trusts.
China expands travel restrictions to families of AI and semiconductor executives
On Sept. 15, China’s new Regulations of the State Council on Exit and Entry Administration took effect, expanding the circumstances under which Chinese citizens may be prevented from leaving the country.
The regulations allow authorities to impose exit restrictions on Chinese citizens who violate export-control or technology import-export rules in ways that could endanger national industrial or technological security, according to the Chinese government’s official announcement. The rules were promulgated in July and took effect on Sept. 15.
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Under Article 6, authorities are generally required to notify affected individuals in writing of the facts, reasons, legal basis and available remedies for an exit restriction. However, that notification may be withheld when disclosure could affect national security or a criminal investigation.
The regulations themselves do not state that family members of technology executives are subject to exit restrictions.
However, a Sept. 28 Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, said government agencies have begun informing some prominent startup founders and executives at strategically important AI-related companies that the restrictions extend to their families.
Direct relatives, including spouses and children of certain AI and semiconductor executives, must now obtain approval from Beijing before traveling abroad, even for short periods, according to Bloomberg.
The reported restrictions build on measures introduced earlier this year targeting technology professionals themselves. In May, Bloomberg reported that authorities were restricting overseas travel by top AI specialists at private companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and DeepSeek. Those professionals were required to receive government approval before traveling abroad.
Beijing has long imposed travel restrictions on some university researchers, nuclear scientists, state-owned enterprise executives and other individuals considered strategically important. The expansion to private-sector AI specialists represents a broader application of such controls to workers whose technological expertise is increasingly viewed by authorities as strategically important.
It remains unclear how many technology professionals and family members are affected or how broadly the restrictions will eventually be applied.
Tax authorities step up scrutiny of wealthy Chinese
At the same time, Chinese authorities are intensifying efforts to collect taxes from wealthy individuals and major companies, including income and assets held overseas.
A Sept. 27 Bloomberg Businessweek investigation reported that tax authorities have established specialized teams to pursue some of China’s wealthiest citizens, with some teams assigned to the affairs of a single billionaire. The teams reportedly bring together local officials, tax specialists and regulators to examine complex financial structures used by wealthy families.
The campaign has increasingly focused on offshore trusts and overseas investments. Earlier this year, authorities began tightening taxation of offshore trusts, while wealthy individuals with affected structures face deadlines in late October to settle liabilities or risk additional penalties.
The pressure has prompted some wealthy Chinese to raise cash by selling shares or borrowing against overseas assets. Bloomberg also reported that some individuals are accelerating applications for foreign citizenship amid concerns that Beijing could eventually impose additional taxes on people moving abroad.
One high-profile case involves Haidilao co-founder Shu Ping, who sold approximately 259 million shares in the hotpot chain through a family trust in September, raising roughly $350 million. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that her family had received an unexpected tax bill before the sale.
Haidilao said the transaction reflected the shareholder’s funding needs and financial arrangements and described it as a personal matter.
China has also been pursuing taxes on overseas assets held by Chinese residents, including investments in Hong Kong. Bloomberg reported that authorities have demanded additional information about offshore trusts and investment income as part of a broader effort to enforce taxes that, although legally required in many cases, were historically collected inconsistently.
The crackdown comes as local governments face mounting fiscal pressure following the prolonged property downturn and sharp declines in revenue from land sales. Reuters reported that Beijing’s intensified enforcement of taxes on offshore wealth is partly aimed at strengthening government revenues as China’s economic slowdown weighs on public finances.
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