Beijing blocks Meta's acquisition of Chinese AI startup Manus
Meta, which owns Facebook, acquired Manus in December 2025 for more than US$2 billion in a bid to boost its capabilities in AI agents.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
BEIJING: China's state planner blocked United States tech giant Meta's purchase of Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus on Monday (Apr 27), ordering the cancellation of the deal as Beijing and Washington jostle over supremacy in frontier industries.
The decision by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) highlights Beijing's commitment to stop AI talent and intellectual property from being acquired by US entities, as Washington tries to hamper its AI development with export controls designed to cut off access to US chips.
It could also add another thorny issue to the agenda of a planned mid-May Beijing summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
California-based Meta, which owns Facebook, acquired Manus in December for more than US$2 billion in a bid to boost its capabilities in AI agents, tools that can execute more complex tasks than chatbots with minimal human intervention.
But in March, Manus CEO Xiao Hong and chief scientist Ji Yichao were barred from leaving China as regulators reviewed the deal, sources familiar with the matter said.
Manus was hailed early last year by state media and commentators as China's next DeepSeek after releasing what it said was the world's first general AI agent.
Months later, Manus moved its headquarters from China to Singapore, joining a wave of other Chinese companies that have done so to curb risks from the US-China tensions.
Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a managing director at Ankura China Advisors, said Beijing’s intervention reflects how AI has become central to strategic competition between the world’s two largest economies, with controls that were once focused on semiconductors now extending into AI.
“China is saying we will prevent foreign acquisition of assets we consider important for national security - and AI is now clearly one of them,” he said, adding that the move also signals to firms that relocating overseas will not shield them from scrutiny.
Meta told AFP in a statement that "the transaction complied fully with applicable law".
"We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry," it added.
