🇨🇳 China just put its top AI researchers on a tighter leash.

Leading AI experts from companies like Alibaba and DeepSeek now reportedly need government approval before traveling abroad.

No approval = no flight.

Beijing says it’s about preventing: data leaks, talent poaching and sensitive AI knowledge leaving the country. China is treating AI talent like strategic infrastructure now, the same way countries protect chips, energy, or defense tech.

This comes as Chinese chipmakers already control a growing share of the country’s AI accelerator market, while regulators recently blocked Mark Zuc