State Media Affiliate Says DeepSeek and MiniMax Approved for Overseas Deployment; China's AI Export Controls Aim to Define Boundaries
A CCTV-affiliated social media account stated that DeepSeek and MiniMax have completed registration and received approval for open-sourcing and overseas use. The post addressed China's draft AI export control revisions, emphasizing that the policy aims to delineate boundaries rather than broadly restrict exports, allowing leading firms to continue commercialization.
According to a post published late Thursday (Oct 22) by Yuyuantantian, a social media account affiliated with China Central Television (CCTV), Chinese AI companies DeepSeek and MiniMax have successfully completed registration procedures and won approval for open-sourcing and authorizing overseas use of their models. This statement addresses Beijing's draft proposal from last week to implement export controls on certain AI tools and services, including large language models and agents.
Previously, China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology solicited public opinions on Oct 16 regarding revisions to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export, which covers 23 AI-related technologies. Market concerns had arisen that this might hinder the global expansion of Chinese AI. However, the Yuyuantantian post noted that the core purpose of the catalogue is to "define boundaries rather than simply restrict the export of AI technology," highlighting that leading companies moved swiftly through compliance processes since the policy announcement.
The post also disclosed significant carveouts: providing API access, web applications, or software-as-a-service (SaaS) features will not be subject to export restrictions, even if powered by restricted underlying models. This implies that the primary business model for companies like DeepSeek and MiniMax—offering model capabilities via cloud interfaces to global users—remains permitted for continued commercialization under the current draft.