China has expanded overseas travel controls for private-sector technology talent by requiring government pre-approval for family members of leading AI and chip executives. Bloomberg reported the move on September 28, 2026, describing it as an extension of restrictions first introduced in May for top AI professionals at companies including Alibaba and DeepSeek. DeepSeek employees began surrendering passports around March 2026, when the company publicly released its R1 model, while authorities imposed exit bans on Manus AI co-founders amid scrutiny of a major acquisition the startup was pursuing. Nationwide rules effective September 15 formalized penalties linked to violations of industrial and technological security, strengthening the legal basis for the restrictions. The widening of controls from state-linked personnel to engineers, researchers and their relatives at private startups marks a broader intervention in the movement of technology-sector talent.