Chinese AI companies reportedly get green light for use abroad

Two Chinese AI companies, DeepSeek and MiniMax, have put in place what they need to use their AI outside China, according to an account linked to the state TV station CCTV. The account, Yuyuantantian, posted the news late on Thursday, October 22, 2026.

According to the account, the two companies have completed registration as well as the procedures for open-sourcing their code and approving use abroad. Open source means that others can see and use the actual recipe behind a program.

A wave of Chinese AI

The announcement is being reported as part of a wave of Chinese AI technologies that Beijing wants to allow to operate globally. Yuyuantantian is an account affiliated with CCTV and not a government authority. It is therefore not clear from the sources which authority formally granted the approval to DeepSeek. Only MiniMax has itself confirmed the registration in the texts reviewed, and no confirmation from DeepSeek has been seen. The sources also do not fully agree on exactly what has been approved: open release and licensing of certain models (MiniMax) or global use in a broader sense.

Draft export controls

In parallel, there is a Chinese draft of export controls. It restricts certain AI tools and services, including large language models (the systems behind chatbots) and agents (AI that can carry out tasks on its own). The draft has not been formally adopted.

API access, web applications and software as a service appear to fall outside the restrictions, even if they are run by controlled models. For an ordinary user, this means that services accessed via the internet appear likely to be affected less than the models themselves.

Chinese state media describe the approach as drawing lines rather than simply restricting. They contrast it with what they characterize as the US use of targeted bans and technology blockades.

Cheaper and more customizable

Chinese AI startups have gained ground with cheaper alternatives and greater room for customization than proprietary Western systems from companies including OpenAI and Anthropic. That is an assessment from the source. Proprietary means that the systems are closed and owned by the company behind them.