China: Travel Restrictions for AI Experts

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Key Takeaways

1China imposes travel restrictions on AI researchers, hindering brain drain abroad.

2Beijing is investigating Meta's acquisition of Manus, blocking the co-founders from leaving the country.

3The AI performance gap between China and the United States is narrowing to 2.7% by 2026, down from 31% in 2023.

💡Why it matters — These measures strengthen China's control over its strategic AI resources, influencing the global technological balance.

China Tightens Restrictions on AI Talent

For artificial intelligence researchers in China, traveling abroad is becoming increasingly complicated. Chinese authorities have implemented travel restrictions for researchers, startup founders, and private company executives, now requiring government approval for any international travel. This measure reflects a strategic shift by Beijing to limit brain drain in a sector where the demand for talent is skyrocketing, as the world engages in a technological race.

In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese authorities had explicitly advised leading AI founders and researchers to avoid traveling to the United States. This recommendation underscores Beijing's desire to protect AI as a crucial economic asset and a national security priority.

The Manus-Meta Deal in the Spotlight

The travel restrictions have been intensified by the attention surrounding the agreement between Manus and Meta. China has barred the co-founders of Manus from leaving the country while regulators investigate Meta's acquisition of the AI startup for $2 billion. This investigation aims to determine whether the deal violates Beijing's foreign investment rules. The co-founders of Manus are currently exploring options to meet Beijing's requirements, including raising about $1 billion from external investors to buy back the company from the social media giant.

AI Competition Between East and West

The race for artificial intelligence between China and the United States is becoming increasingly tight. The latest Stanford index shows that the performance gap between the top American and Chinese models has narrowed to just 2.7% in March 2026, down from about 31% in 2023. This reduction in the gap raises questions about how long America can maintain its lead in this field. While the United States continues to dominate in terms of model quality and impactful patents, China is making rapid progress, sometimes surpassing American labs in terms of publications, citations, and patent volume.

Control of Foreign Investments

In addition to travel restrictions, China is considering controlling the flow of American capital to its leading AI companies. According to a Bloomberg report in April, Chinese tech companies such as Moonshot AI, StepFun, and ByteDance will need to obtain government approval before they can accept American investments.

Economic and Technological Measures

These new travel restrictions are part of a series of increasing economic countermeasures taken by Beijing. In 2025, China imposed two rounds of export controls on 14 essential rare earth materials for high-tech military manufacturing. Additionally, it has banned state-funded data centers from deploying foreign AI chips, thereby strengthening its control over critical technological resources.