China's economic planner has ordered parties to abandon Meta Platforms' roughly $2 billion purchase of AI startup Manus, blocking the deal as part of a wider effort to keep advanced artificial intelligence technology and talent from leaving China's orbit, regulators said.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it was prohibiting the foreign acquisition after a regulatory review that began earlier this year and required all parties to withdraw from the transaction. Manus, a Singapore-based developer of AI agents that can carry out multi-step tasks, had been moving toward completion; the company's website still lists Manus as part of Meta, suggesting the purchase had progressed before Beijing stepped in. Meta told reporters the transaction complied with applicable laws and that it expects an appropriate resolution to the inquiry. Manus did not respond to requests for comment.
Beijing did not name Meta in its public direction but framed the decision around protecting sensitive technology and talent and enforcing rules on cross‑border transfers of tech, data and investment. Chinese authorities have increasingly treated advanced AI as a strategic asset akin to critical infrastructure, giving them a legal basis to block or unwind overseas deals involving companies with Chinese links even when they are headquartered abroad.
The Manus intervention follows a recent flurry of NDRC moves tightening Beijing’s control over foreign capital in AI firms. Last month the commission instructed some domestic AI companies to refuse U.S.-origin investment unless it receives explicit government approval, part of a broader effort to vet where funding, personnel and intellectual property move in and out of China. Observers say those measures, combined with U.S. export controls and investment restrictions, are hardening a bilateral environment in which cross-border technology transactions are increasingly politicized.
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For Meta, the loss of Manus is a setback to its push into autonomous AI agents—systems that go beyond conversational chatbots to take actions such as managing schedules, analyzing datasets and even writing code. Manus was expected to accelerate that work by contributing engineering talent and agent architectures; without it, Meta may face delays or need to pursue alternative partnerships or in‑house development to fill the gap.
Timing of Beijing’s decision is notable: it arrived days before a planned May meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, when both sides are weighing the strategic contours of economic and technological competition. Analysts say the move serves as a signal that Beijing will assert control over which technologies and capabilities can be transferred internationally ahead of high-level diplomacy.
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The Manus episode underscores how geopolitical rivalry is reshaping corporate M&A and the diffusion of AI. Deals that once would have been commercial negotiations are now subject to national security reviews and political calculations, a shift that could make future acquisitions of startups with any Chinese connection far more difficult for U.S. technology companies.
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