• China has imposed new restrictions on overseas travel for citizens, including exit bans for those who violate export controls or technology transfer rules, citing national industrial and technological security concerns.
• The regulation, effective as of Tuesday, allows authorities to bar individuals from leaving the country indefinitely if their violations are deemed to endanger national security, with no specified maximum duration for such travel bans.
• The tighter controls also include barring citizens from leaving China for up to three years if they are believed to have harmed the country's national security or interests while abroad, with the regulation aimed at combating unlawful behavior like cross-border fraud and illegal gambling.

China has imposed new restrictions on overseas travel for citizens, including exit bans for people who violate export controls or rules governing the transfer of technology.

A new regulation that took effect on Tuesday allows authorities to bar people from leaving the country if their violations could "endanger national industrial and technological security." No maximum duration for such travel bans is specified.

In an explanatory note, the authorities cited cases in which Chinese citizens had illegally transferred technology abroad after an unauthorized departure from the country. Beijing also justified the tighter controls on the grounds of protecting technical knowledge. Exit bans on national security grounds had already been possible before.

Further grounds for exit bans

The regulation, published in July, also allows authorities to bar citizens from leaving the country from between six months and three years if they are deemed to have harmed China's national security or interests while abroad.

The authorities say the tighter controls are intended to combat unlawful behaviour including cross-border fraud and illegal gambling. Critics, however, see the new rules as an expansion of state control over citizens' freedom of movement.

The 19-article regulation also governs entry into China. Foreigners who provide false information in visa applications abroad or upon entry can be barred from entering for between one and five years.

It also expands travel authorization requirements for certain employees.

Many party and state officials have for years been required to surrender their private passports to their employer and obtain authorization for trips abroad.

The new regulation extends some of these requirements to employees of schools and other public institutions, justified on the grounds of protecting state secrets and combating corruption.