China lets DeepSeek and MiniMax keep selling AI abroad

China is letting DeepSeek and MiniMax keep selling their AI abroad, days after announcing new limits on exporting AI technology. Chinese state media reported last Friday that two companies, named elsewhere as these two, received authorization to continue exports.

What changed

In mid-October, China's Ministry of Commerce updated its list of technologies that are banned or restricted from export. It added 23 technologies tied to large AI models, AI agents (software that can carry out tasks on its own), computing clusters and information processing. Chinese companies must now apply for a license before selling these abroad. Open source AI, which is released under public licenses, is exempt.

Why it matters

Both companies are credible challengers to American AI vendors. Letting them sell abroad fits China's goal of building export industries and strengthening its tech sector. But the longer list also lets Beijing stop exports of any AI it sees as important national capacity, such as tools that are strong at finding software bugs or that have military uses.

China is not alone. The US has imposed on-again, off-again bans on sales of advanced GPUs, the chips that power AI, to China.

What is not known yet

Reports do not say how long the licenses last, what conditions come with them, or whether other companies have applied. Anyone using or considering Chinese AI tools should know access could shift with licenses and politics. Relying on a single supplier carries risk.