Chinese authorities have reportedly advised top artificial intelligence (AI) experts to refrain from traveling to the United States due to security concerns, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Beijing views AI as a critical economic and national security asset and is worried that researchers and entrepreneurs might inadvertently disclose sensitive information or be detained and used as leverage in US-China negotiations.

While no formal travel ban has been issued, officials in major tech hubs such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Zhejiang have been warning against non-essential trips to the US and allied countries.

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Sources revealed that AI and robotics executives are encouraged to limit travel unless necessary. Those who choose to travel are instructed to notify authorities of their plans and report on their activities and meetings upon returning.

In February, Caroline Golin, Google's global head of energy markets, development, and policy, noted that the US was facing a power capacity crisis as it competes with China to lead in the AI industry.

In January, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab focused on large language models, launched its R1 assistant, claiming it was comparable to OpenAI’s more expensive ChatGPT.

DeepSeek has since become one of the most downloaded apps in the US, UK, UAE, South Korea, and China. Following this success, the US tech sector saw a decline, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 3.07% and Nvidia losing 17% of its value.

Read more: DeepSeek and the dollar are spoiling ‘Trump trades’: FT