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.
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
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.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
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.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Newsletter
Morning Brief
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app