Authored by: Huang Ling, Liu Cheng, Xu Jing , Wang Xinghua (Owen), Xu Jiaxing (Jason), Liu Ning and Fang wei
In September 2025, the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation released the Guidelines on the Protection of Trade Secrets of Artificial Intelligence Enterprises (the “Guidelines”). Although issued at the provincial level, the Guidelines represent a notable regulatory development in China’s approach to trade secret protection in the age of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the digital economy. The Guidelines reflect a shift toward a more specialised and practice-oriented enforcement framework, taking into account the technical characteristics and commercial realities of AI enterprises.