China imposes travel restrictions to protect ‘national security’

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China’s President Xi Jinping (Photo by Maxim Shemetov / POOL / AFP)

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China imposed sweeping travel restrictions on its citizens on Tuesday, including exit bans on those deemed to endanger the country’s “industrial or technological security”.

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Citizens who violate technology import and export regulations could be banned from leaving China, the State Council said.

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Those who engage in illegal activities abroad could be “prohibited from leaving the country for a period of six months to three years from the date of their return to China”.

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China and the United States have been locked in a tech race, with both sides accusing the other in recent months of stealing the capabilities of locally developed artificial intelligence models.

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The new rules, first released in July but in effect from Tuesday, were formulated to “safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests”, the State Council said.

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However, analysts warn that the travel rules give China a “wide remit”.

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Security and criminal activities “can be vaguely defined and easily adjusted”, Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore told AFP.

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“The outside world will only know how it applies that remit after there are cases of implementation,” he said.

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Chong pointed to reports of exit bans on foreign nationals, including the recent case of US citizen Min Zin.

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The US government has said the political analyst was taken into Chinese custody in Yunnan province on June 3 and was held improperly.

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China refuted the accusations in August, saying Min Zin was suspected of violating Chinese law.

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“The case of Min Zin is a reminder that the range of people (that China) could restrict from exiting could be quite wide — and potentially arbitrary,” Chong said.

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Dylan Loh, an associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, told AFP the travel restrictions “send a message” that China will take action to prevent “leaks in security or national interest-sensitive areas”.

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AFP

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