Amid intensifying high-tech competition between the United States and China, both China and Taiwan have recently proposed new measures for high-tech export control.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced plans to revise the “Catalog of Technologies Prohibited from Export or Restricted for Export,” involving 40 technologies including artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and photovoltaics. On the other hand, Taiwan plans to include artificial intelligence servers and high-end semiconductors in the control list to further align with the export control measures of the United States.
According to Announcement No. 48 of 2026 issued by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on October 16, the Ministry, together with the Ministry of Science and Technology, intends to revise the “Catalog of Technologies Prohibited from Export or Restricted for Export in China,” adding a total of 40 technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and photovoltaics. Starting from the date of the announcement, pre-export registration management will be implemented for the relevant technologies.
In the field of artificial intelligence, the technologies involved include 23 items such as large models, intelligent bodies, computing clusters, and information processing. In biomedicine, there are 5 technologies including cell and gene therapies, small nucleic acid drugs, and technologies related to pathogenic microorganisms. In the photovoltaic field, there are 12 technologies including polysilicon manufacturing, silicon wafer manufacturing, and battery manufacturing.
The Ministry of Commerce stated that this revision does not target any specific country, region, or entity. The public consultation period for the draft revision is from October 16 to November 15. According to the announcements from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology, before the revised “Catalog” is officially implemented, exporters of relevant technologies must register in the relevant business systems of the Ministry of Commerce before exporting technologies listed in the annex of the export announcement.
Registration is required in cases such as transferring technology ownership abroad, authorizing the use of domestic technology abroad, changing the owner or actual controller of domestic technology to an overseas entity, and other situations specified by the Ministry of Commerce. Related technology exports that have already begun but not yet completed are also included in the registration scope.
On October 16, the Associated Press reported that the draft includes core technologies of large models trained using sensitive data from certain countries and intelligent body technologies that can be used in sensitive environments such as defense and critical information infrastructure. Some artificial intelligence processing chips and memory chip-related technologies are also within the proposed control range.
Reuters pointed out that one of the backgrounds of this revision is the competition between China and the United States in advanced artificial intelligence technologies.
According to a report by Voice of America on October 16, Taiwan plans to further tighten restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips and related hardware to China, in line with the export control measures of the United States.
Bloomberg reported on the same day that Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Gong Mingxin stated that Taiwan plans to include artificial intelligence servers and advanced semiconductors in the list of controlled goods. After the measures take effect, exporting AI hardware to China may involve criminal liability under the “Trade Law.” Gong Mingxin did not disclose a specific implementation schedule at that time.
Artificial intelligence servers typically integrate AI processors, accelerators, memory, networks, power supplies, and cooling systems, and can be used for training, fine-tuning, and operating AI models. If the related servers and high-end semiconductors are officially included on the control list, exporters must determine whether they need to apply for an export license based on product category, destination, and applicable regulations.
Taiwan plays a crucial role in the global semiconductor supply chain. According to data released by TrendForce, TSMC’s revenue accounted for approximately 69.9% of the global wafer foundry market in the full year of 2025. This data reflects the importance of TSMC in the wafer foundry market, but does not represent Taiwan’s proportion of all semiconductor products globally.
Another report by Bloomberg also pointed out that Taiwan plans to include artificial intelligence servers and advanced semiconductors in the export control list. The actual effect of these measures will depend on the final list of controlled items, licensing requirements, and enforcement methods.
If Taiwan further restricts the export of specific high-end AI chips and servers, it may increase compliance costs and supply chain barriers for China to acquire related computing hardware, aligning with some of the policies in the United States that restrict China’s access to advanced AI technology.
Since 2022, the United States has gradually tightened semiconductor export controls on China, covering advanced computational chips, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, related software tools, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and specific companies, aiming to restrict China’s access to and production of advanced semiconductors for use in AI, advanced computing, and military systems.
In October 2022, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a new round of export controls, restricting China’s access to certain advanced computational chips, supercomputer-related technology, and advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and setting licensing requirements for U.S. citizens supporting specific chip manufacturing facilities in China.
Since then, the U.S. has continued to expand and revise relevant regulations. In October 2023, the U.S. further expanded export controls on advanced computational chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment; in April 2024, the rules were further amended and clarified to restrict China’s access to advanced computational chips and manufacturing equipment.
In December 2024, the U.S. implemented another round of control measures, adding 24 categories of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and 3 categories of related software tools to the export restriction list, including high-bandwidth memory, adding 140 Chinese (CCP)-related entities to the entity list, and modifying 14 list entries. BIS stated that these measures are aimed at limiting China’s access to and production of advanced semiconductors for advanced weapons systems, AI, and high-end computing.
In January 2025, BIS added 11 more Chinese entities to the entity list, with 10 of them involving advanced AI research and China’s (CCP) military modernization, while one involves the microfabrication technology development needed for China’s (CCP) advanced process chip manufacturing.
Overall, U.S. semiconductor controls on China have expanded from advanced chips to manufacturing equipment, software tools, high-bandwidth memory, and related entities, gradually forming multiple layers of restrictions covering chip acquisition, manufacturing capabilities, and technical support.
However, the U.S. policy is not unilaterally tightening in all directions. In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce adjusted the export permit review policy for certain high-end chips, such as the NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI325X, changing the export permit application from presumptive denial to case-by-case review. Applicants must prove that the exports will not weaken the U.S. market supply, that the Chinese buyers have export compliance and security measures, and undergo testing by a third-party organization in the U.S.
In summary, the high-tech competition between the U.S. and China is extending from advanced chips to the export control of core artificial intelligence technologies and related hardware. China plans to strengthen export management for certain technologies, Taiwan plans to include specific high-end hardware in export controls to align with the adjustments in U.S. policies, and the U.S. continues to adjust its semiconductor export policies.
The policy adjustments by the U.S., China, and Taiwan will not only impact the supply chain layout of high-end chips and AI technologies globally, cross-border investments by enterprises, and technological cooperation but may also further influence the development direction of technological competition between the U.S. and China.
If the U.S. and Taiwan further coordinate in the areas of export control and technology security, it may increase the difficulty for China to acquire certain high-end chips, AI hardware, and related technologies, thereby affecting the development of its high-tech industry.