China has implemented sweeping new controls on overseas travel for Chinese citizens as President Xi Jinping steps up efforts to secure state secrets, advanced technology and highly skilled workers. The regulations, which come into force on Tuesday, will formalise creeping restrictions on overseas trips for mid-to-senior-level civil servants, Communist Party cadres and state-owned enterprise employees, analysts say. It will also cover private citizens working in sensitive areas, according to immigration experts. Those who breach the new rules will face steep fines and exit bans ranging from three months to an indefinite period. The law takes China back towards the decades-long prohibition on foreign travel that prevailed during the Mao era, analysts say. Those restrictions only fully eased when Beijing opened up to trade.

Full report : China can block citizens from leaving the country over national security or tech export violations.