{
  "api_version": "1",
  "updated": "2026-10-26",
  "latest_event": "2026-10-24",
  "rights": "© Frontier Log, all rights reserved.",
  "story": {
    "slug": "china-ai-export-registration",
    "title": "China Asks for Registration, Not Approval",
    "description": "What China's Announcement No. 48 asks of AI exporters, and the Chinese open-weight releases since, as the official texts date them.",
    "url": "https://frontierlog.ai/stories/china-ai-export-registration",
    "date": "2026-10-26",
    "image": "https://frontierlog.ai/og/story-china-ai-export-registration-explainer.png",
    "event": "2026-10-16-ai-technology-export-registration",
    "tags": [
      "government",
      "open-weights"
    ],
    "images": [
      "https://frontierlog.ai/og/story-china-ai-export-registration-explainer.png",
      "https://frontierlog.ai/og/story-china-ai-export-registration-timeline.png"
    ],
    "steps": [
      {
        "event": "2026-10-16-ai-technology-export-registration",
        "date": "2026-10-16",
        "provider": null,
        "label": "Registration required",
        "note": "23 AI technologies, registration at once",
        "key": true
      },
      {
        "event": "2026-10-17-deepseek-v4-1-flash-1017",
        "date": "2026-10-17",
        "provider": "deepseek",
        "label": "DeepSeek weights",
        "note": "Open weights the next day",
        "key": false
      },
      {
        "event": "2026-10-19-minimax-m3-1-flash",
        "date": "2026-10-19",
        "provider": "minimax",
        "label": "MiniMax M3.1 Flash",
        "note": "Weights to follow",
        "key": false
      },
      {
        "event": "2026-10-23-minimax-export-registration",
        "date": "2026-10-23",
        "provider": "minimax",
        "label": "MiniMax registers",
        "note": "First lab on record",
        "key": true
      },
      {
        "event": "2026-10-24-kimi-k3-1-pro",
        "date": "2026-10-24",
        "provider": "moonshot",
        "label": "Kimi K3.1 Pro",
        "note": "Weights by Nov 4",
        "key": false
      }
    ],
    "tables": [],
    "records": [
      {
        "date": "2009-04-20",
        "party": "China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)",
        "what": "require a licence to export a technology the catalogue restricts",
        "by": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "source": "https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2009/content_1449021.htm",
        "quote": "国家对列入《中国禁止出口限制出口技术目录》的限制出口技术实行许可证管理，凡出口国家限制出口技术的，应按本办法履行出口许可手续。"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-16",
        "party": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "what": "propose adding 23 AI technologies to the export control catalogue",
        "by": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "source": "https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zfxxgk/gkml/art/2026/art_ccd0391072a94c809ae7e820abe2536b.html",
        "quote": "人工智能领域包括大模型、智能体、算力集群、信息处理相关23项技术；对已通过开源、发表学术论文等方式进入公共领域的技术，不纳入管理范围。",
        "key": true
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-16",
        "party": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "what": "require registration before exporting them, from the same day",
        "by": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "source": "https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zfxxgk/gkml/art/2026/art_ccd0391072a94c809ae7e820abe2536b.html",
        "quote": "自本公告发布之日起，至《中国禁止出口限制出口技术目录》正式修订并实施之日止，技术出口经营者在出口本公告附件所列技术前，应当在商务部业务系统统一平台技术贸易管理信息应用（https://ecomp.mofcom.gov.cn）登记。",
        "key": true
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-16",
        "party": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "what": "take comments until Nov 15",
        "by": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "source": "https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zfxxgk/gkml/art/2026/art_ccd0391072a94c809ae7e820abe2536b.html",
        "quote": "公众可在2026年10月16日-11月15日期间，通过以下途径，就新增技术范围、指标、管控政策、便利措施等提出意见"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-17",
        "party": "DeepSeek",
        "what": "releases DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 with open weights",
        "by": "DeepSeek",
        "source": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news261017/",
        "quote": "Open-source release Get DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017: Hugging Face: https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-19",
        "party": "MiniMax",
        "what": "launches M3.1 Flash, its weights to follow",
        "by": "MiniMax",
        "source": "https://www.minimax.io/blog/minimax-m31f",
        "quote": "Model weights will be released later."
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-23",
        "party": "MiniMax",
        "what": "tells the Hong Kong exchange it has registered",
        "by": "MiniMax",
        "source": "https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/1023/2026102301675.pdf",
        "quote": "the Company has duly completed the technology export registration procedures with the Ministry of Commerce required for the open-source release and overseas licensing of certain recently released and upcoming models",
        "key": true
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-23",
        "party": "MiniMax",
        "what": "releases M3.1 Flash's weights",
        "by": "MiniMax",
        "source": "https://huggingface.co/MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M3.1-Flash"
      },
      {
        "date": "2026-10-24",
        "party": "Moonshot AI",
        "what": "launches Kimi K3.1 Pro, weights by Nov 4",
        "by": "Moonshot AI",
        "source": "https://www.kimi.ai/blog/kimi-k3-1-pro",
        "quote": "Full model weights will be released by Nov 4, 2026."
      }
    ],
    "cites": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zfxxgk/gkml/art/2026/art_ccd0391072a94c809ae7e820abe2536b.html",
        "by": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "medium": "government announcement",
        "date": "2026-10-16"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/1023/2026102301675.pdf",
        "by": "MiniMax",
        "medium": "HKEX announcement",
        "date": "2026-10-23"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2009/content_1449021.htm",
        "by": "MOFCOM and MOST",
        "medium": "ministerial order",
        "date": "2009-04-20"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news261017/",
        "by": "DeepSeek",
        "medium": "news post",
        "date": "2026-10-17"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.minimax.io/blog/minimax-m31f",
        "by": "MiniMax",
        "medium": "blog post",
        "date": "2026-10-19"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://huggingface.co/MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M3.1-Flash",
        "by": "MiniMax",
        "medium": "Hugging Face model page"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.kimi.ai/blog/kimi-k3-1-pro",
        "by": "Moonshot AI",
        "medium": "blog post",
        "date": "2026-10-24"
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
      "https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zfxxgk/gkml/art/2026/art_ccd0391072a94c809ae7e820abe2536b.html",
      "https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/1023/2026102301675.pdf",
      "https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2009/content_1449021.htm",
      "https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news261017/",
      "https://www.minimax.io/blog/minimax-m31f",
      "https://huggingface.co/MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M3.1-Flash",
      "https://www.kimi.ai/blog/kimi-k3-1-pro"
    ]
  }
}
