BEIJING—Chinese authorities are instructing top artificial-intelligence entrepreneurs and researchers to avoid visiting the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, reflecting Beijing’s view of the technology as an economic and national security priority.

The authorities are concerned that Chinese AI experts traveling abroad could divulge confidential information about the nation’s progress. They also worry that executives could be detained and used as a bargaining chip in U.S.-China negotiations, in an echo of a fight over a Huawei executive held in Canada at Washington’s request during the first Trump administration.