Story perspectives

China Imposes Export Controls on Tunnel-Boring Machines, AI

By Drooid · Oct 19, 2026, 5:59 PM UTC · How we work

Center

Targeted Technology Restrictions

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced export controls on tunnel-boring machines effective November 18, and new AI and solar controls.
Exporters must obtain licences under China’s dual-use export law, presented as a response to India’s push for domestic tunnel-boring capacity.
AI draft lists 23 items, banning models >=2 trillion parameters or top-10, exempting API services.
Solar proposal bans thin-wafer, perovskite, tandem cells and polysilicon, but only restricts TOPCon, HJT, XBC.

Left

Customs Delays Cripple Projects

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced export controls on tunnel-boring machines effective 18 November, alongside proposed restrictions on artificial-intelligence and solar technologies.
The measures risk India’s critical infrastructure, where customs delays since 2024 have stalled metro, railway and border tunnelling projects reliant on Chinese equipment.
The list adds 40 technologies: 23 AI items, cell and gene therapies, and solar-cell equipment.
Chinese officials say the controls follow international practice and protect security.

Blindspot

India has reported customs-clearance delays for Chinese tunnel-boring machines since 2024, affecting metro, railway and border tunnelling projects, according to Indian officials.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In October 2022 the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security broadened export controls, adding 28 Entity-List firms and new license rules for advanced chips, supercomputers and semiconductor equipment aimed at the People’s Republic of China. The move extends a decades-long U.S. strategy to limit China’s high-performance computing and AI progress.

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Targeted Technology Restrictions

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced export controls on tunnel-boring machines effective November 18, and new AI and solar controls.
Exporters must obtain licences under China’s dual-use export law, presented as a response to India’s push for domestic tunnel-boring capacity.
AI draft lists 23 items, banning models >=2 trillion parameters or top-10, exempting API services.
Solar proposal bans thin-wafer, perovskite, tandem cells and polysilicon, but only restricts TOPCon, HJT, XBC.

1 / 4