It is reported that most of the standards are drafted by the Chinese government alone, without foreign or public input. Even if foreign companies are allowed to sit in on the drafting process, they do not have a vote when the technical committees actually vote on a draft standard. In recent years, existing technical committees continue to develop standards but more foreign participation is being allowed in some cases. For example, the technical committee for cybersecurity standards has begun allowing foreign companies to participate in some standards development and setting, with a few U.S. and other foreign companies being allowed to vote and to participate at the working group level in standards development. However, foreign companies’ ability to participate in technical committee activities remains restricted.
China is also increasingly developing and mandating national algorithms for its encryption technology that differ from global standards. These standards are developed in technical committees that are closed to foreign participation.
The Chinese government has also supported the development of mandated domestic radio frequency identification (RFID) standards, without international participation or consensus, despite the fact that global standards for RFID already exist.

Announcement No. 38 amends the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export adding 23 categories of technologies to the list of technologies restricted from export, modifying the control parameters of 21 categories of technologies already included on such list. The announcement also removes certain products from the prohibited and restricted list including informational security firewall technology. The export of restricted products can only be undertaken pursuant to obtaining permission from the Chinese government, while export of technologies such as AI and interactive interface technologies is prohibited. Newly added categories of technologies, the export of which is restricted as a result of the amendments, include cryptographic security technologies, information countermeasure and defense technologies, 3D printing technologies, laser technologies, cryptographic chip design and implementation technology, information processing technology, basic software security enhancement technology, among others.

It is reported that China imposes a set of export restrictions, including export duties and export quotas, on selected raw materials: graphite, cobalt, copper, lead, chromium, magnesia, talcum, tantalum, tin, antimony, and indium. Some of these raw materials (e.g. graphite, copper, tin, and indium) are used to produce smartphones and batteries. The export restrictions limit access to these products for companies outside China. In addition, a draft regulation on rare earths is pending approval to provide for total quota control over rare-earth mining, smelting, and separation, and the approval system for investment projects of rare earths.

It is reported that China limits exports of advanced drones and supercomputers for national security reasons. Affected vendors have to apply for a government permit to ship their technology outside China.

Art. 53 of the Provisions on Insurance System Informatization, 2016 states, "Insurance institutions shall give first priority to the procurement of secure and controllable hardware equipment and software products, steadily introduce the application of secure and controllable products; actively create conditions to raise the indigenous research and development level, and continuously enhance insurance institutions' strength in security and controllability of informatization". It is reported that the phrase "secure and controllable" technology in conjunction with the reference to "conditions to raise the indigenous research and development level" could be read in context as reference to local technology. Further, it is reported that the requirement to procure "secure and controllable" requirements was not explained adequately by authorities and had been understood in the past to domestic technology. It has been argued that companies sourcing ICT products were interpreting this language constructively and consequently believe that they are required to purchase only domestic goods.

Since September 2014, the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) tightened the regulation for foreign TV and online streaming content. Online platforms will have to limit foreign content to 30% of the streaming content made available online.

Under the Cryptography Law, the import and export of commercial encryption products, technologies, and services remain subject to government approval. Commercial encryption products that may affect national security, and public interest and have encryption-based protective functions can only be imported under a permit. The Ministry of Commerce together with the Office of State Commercial Cryptography Administration (OSCCA) and the General Administration of Customs publish the catalogs of commercial encryption products that are subject to the above import permit and export controls. The aforesaid requirements do not apply to commercial encryption used in products for consumption by the general population. However, the Cryptography Law does not define the term leaving it unclear as to how this is implemented in practice.
In addition, the Cryptography Law has removed the requirement for mandatory certification and has instead established a voluntary certification scheme, which encourages manufacturers to apply to qualified agencies for the testing and certification of their commercial encryption products. The products set out in the Product Catalogue are no longer subject to mandatory approval requirements before launching their product in the market. The voluntary certification provides a marking that serves to assure customers that their commercial encryption products conform with Chinese encryption standards. Products included in the product catalog are smart password keys, smart IC cards, ATM application systems, security authentication, financial data encryption machines, etc.

In December 2018, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the General Administration of Customs issued the adjusted catalog of used mechanical and electrical products prohibited from import, effective from 1 January 2019. The adjusted catalog includes part of the mechanical and electrical products. Some of the products included in this list are video recorders, sound recorders or playback equipment using semiconductor media, disc-type broadcast video recorders, color LCD monitors that can be directly connected and designed for automatic data processing equipment.

MOFCOM Notice 63/2019 imposes non-automatic import licensing procedure upon certain chemicals, machinery and electrical goods. Some of the products included in this list are satellite TV receptors, antenna for satellite TV reception, decoder for satellite TV reception, special parts for satellite TV reception.

China instituted a licensing system for online taxi companies which requires that the personal information and business data should be stored and used in mainland China and must not be transferred outside of China. Such information should be retained for two years, except when otherwise required by other laws and regulations. The Measurement also regulates that servers of the taxi companies should be set up in Mainland China, with a network security management system and technical measures for security protection in compliance with regulations.

According to the Map Management Regulations, online maps are required to set up their server inside of the country and must acquire an official certificate.

China imposes strict limitations on companies that wish to offer VoIP services in the country. It requires a supplier to have a basic telecommunications service license to provide VoIP service.

Regarding Regarding IT services, complaints have been received due to the multitude of government licensing and accreditation agencies to contract which is problematic and time-consuming for foreign investors. services, AMCHAM China complained that the multitude of licensing and accreditation government agencies to be engaged is problematic and excessively time consuming for foreign investors.

China's telecom laws require all foreign firms that provide data center or cloud computing services enter into a joint venture with a Chinese firm and obtain an internet data center license.

The Circular on Clearing up and Regulating the Internet Access Service Market barred telecommunication companies and Internet access service providers from setting up or renting VPNs without government approval. More and more cases have been reported of VPNs being shut down, and individuals who set up or use VPNs are punished since 2017.