Chinese state media have reported that DeepSeek and MiniMax, two of the country’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) developers, have completed registration procedures to release their models as open-source and license them for overseas use.
Yuyuan Tantian, a new media outlet under Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, disclosed the news last Thursday (22 October). In a follow-up article the next day, it said overseas internet users were calling on other Chinese open-source large language models (LLMs) to follow suit.
The article said this once again demonstrated strong overseas interest in and demand for Chinese open-source LLMs, and that a clear, predictable compliance process could steadily bolster global users’ confidence in Chinese models expanding overseas.
According to Reuters, MiniMax confirmed last Friday (23 October) that it had arranged open-source releases and overseas licensing for some recently released and forthcoming models, and completed technology export registration with the Ministry of Commerce. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
STAR Market Daily cited analyses saying that the completion of registration by the two leading AI LLM developers meant that, even as core sensitive technologies remained under strict control, the route overseas for general-purpose open-source LLMs had become clearer.
This provided a compliance model for the industry, with more open-source model developers expected to follow suit and complete registration for overseas use.
The news comes as China considers tightening export restrictions on AI-related technologies.
On 16 October, China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology sought public feedback on revisions to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export. They proposed export controls on 23 AI technologies, including those involving models, agents and computing clusters.
The proposed controls would also apply to the overseas deployment of AI models containing restricted technologies.
Yuyuan Tantian said the relevant departments had begun drawing up the consultation draft in the first half of this year, and had brought together a broad range of research institutions, industry organisations and leading companies beforehand to conduct in-depth assessments.
The article said the Ministry of Commerce’s explanations of what will not be controlled in its responses to questions were notably more extensive and specific than its explanations of what will be controlled.
Some analysts see this as Beijing’s latest move to restrict the transfer abroad of technological tools it considers vital to national security, amid geopolitical competition between China and the US.
