China has introduced sweeping new rules restricting overseas and outbound travel for its citizens, a move critics say hands Beijing even greater control over the population. Under the regulations, people deemed to have "harmed" national security or interests while abroad can be barred from leaving China for up to three years, with the rules also extending to those seen as threats to the country's industrial or technological security, particularly in sensitive sectors such as semiconductors and AI.

Border officials must now warn citizens against travelling to "high-risk" destinations, and some, including civil servants and state employees, have long faced passport confiscation and approval requirements for foreign trips, with tourism less likely to be approved than family visits. Academics, including Georgetown's Professor Tom Kellogg, have called the expanding controls "deeply concerning" and reminiscent of the isolation of Mao Zedong's era, while Chinese authorities insist the measures target only high-risk individuals and destinations, and aim to curb scams and illegal gambling abroad. Citizens have no way of checking in advance whether they are subject to an exit ban.