China tightens safeguards on technology exports, outbound investments, and cross-border data transfers, signaling a comprehensive effort to shield digital assets and sensitive information.

Beijing aims to protect domestic innovation and retain talent, evidenced by actions against overseas acquisitions and travel restrictions for top AI professionals in private firms.

The regime expands protections for trade secrets, including data and algorithms, as part of boosting technological self-reliance.

The policy targets malicious poaching and headhunting as threats to business secrets.

New liability rules hold instigators, inducers, and helpers in infringement more accountable, strengthening third-party responsibility across the supply chain.

Regulators will intensify investigations into poaching and malvevolent headhunting aimed at stealing trade secrets.

SAMR says the provisions fill gaps for administrative protection in the digital era, addressing rising risks from electronic intrusion and remote data scraping.

Departing employees must declare, return, erase, and destroy trade secrets and related materials they accessed, while upholding confidentiality obligations.

A month-long national enforcement campaign launched on June 1 will crack down on malicious poaching and departures with trade secrets in focus, targeting biomedicine, semiconductors, and AI.

The regulations cover infringements outside China, though enforcement mechanisms for cross-border violations are not specified.

New rules impose strict security requirements for remote work and cross-border collaboration, redefining confidential information to include data and algorithms and enhancing penalties for digital-era trade-secret theft.

State media praise the measures as adapting to the digital era, highlighting that data, algorithms, programs, and code are core trade secrets amid rising electronic intrusion and remote scraping threats.