China Tightens Travel Restrictions on Top AI Talent

China has enacted travel limitations for its leading AI researchers, startup founders, and executives, mandating government consent for overseas trips. This initiative seeks to safeguard AI as a crucial economic resource and a matter of national security. In March 2025, Chinese officials cautioned prominent AI founders against visiting the U.S. The restrictions escalated following Beijing's scrutiny of the Manus-Meta agreement, which prevented Manus' co-founders from departing the country amid investigations into Meta's $2 billion acquisition. The co-founders are considering options to dissolve the deal, such as attracting $1 billion from outside investors. Additionally, China intends to require governmental approval for tech firms like Moonshot AI, StepFun, and ByteDance to accept American investments. These actions follow export restrictions on rare earth materials and a prohibition on state-funded data centers utilizing foreign AI chips. The competition in AI between the U.S. and China is intensifying; Stanford's index reveals that the performance disparity between leading U.S. and Chinese models decreased from 31% in 2023 to 2.7% by March 2026. While China excels in publications, citations, and patent volume, the U.S. remains superior in model quality and influential patents.