China said on Friday it plans to restrict or ban exports of 40 technologies.

These include artificial intelligence, chips and solar power.

The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly published a draft document with the proposed updates.

A commerce ministry spokesperson said the move was "necessary" and cited national security as one reason.

The proposal came as China and the U.S. made progress in talks on AI safety and governance.

Twenty-three AI technologies are on the list, from advanced large models to agents.

Exports of core technologies for AI large models trained on sensitive national data would be prohibited.

So would AI agents designed for highly sensitive settings such as national defense and critical information infrastructure.

The commerce ministry said the measures aim to reinforce the security bottom line.

They also aim to prevent misuse and abuse, and to keep AI under human control.

Exports of AI models with 2 trillion or more parameters could be restricted.

The same applies to models with certain world-leading capabilities.

The proposal did not name specific models.

Several chip design technologies are also included, including some for AI processing chips and memory chips.

Twelve solar power technologies are on the list, including those for making polysilicon.

Five biomedicine technologies are also included, such as those related to cell and gene therapy.

Lian Jye Su, a chief analyst at Omdia, said the move can be seen as a response to Western countries.

He said those countries are posting sovereignty requirements on AI, robotics and telecommunications.

He believes the aim is to better regulate access to Chinese technologies.

Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis, said AI is increasingly strategic for both China and the U.S.

He said the world is getting more fragmented in trade, investment and access to technologies.