With just weeks to go before the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, China's National Development and Reform Commission unexpectedly blocked Meta Platforms' acquisition of the AI-agent startup Manus on Monday morning, signaling that Beijing has no problem with tightening control over high-value AI assets ahead of high-level talks.
Bloomberg reports that China's NDRC has blocked Meta's $2 billion takeover of Manus, a Singapore-based AI-agent startup originally founded in China. Manus has been described as a general AI agent capable of automating complex tasks, including financial analysis, sales pitch drafting, and other workflow-intensive functions.
NDRC's official announcement says the agency has "made a decision to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations, and has required the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction."
Meta's acquisition of Manus would have given Zuckerberg a stronger foothold in the fast-growing AI-agent race against OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and others. Instead, the NDRC's intervention to block the deal appears to have become a major headache for Zuckerberg and company.
"The Manus block is a clarifying moment," DZT Research analyst Ke Yan noted.
Yan added, "Manus was Singapore-incorporated with founders based here, and it still got pulled back. Beijing's signal is that what matters isn't where the legal entity sits."
Bloomberg noted:
Still, it's unclear how Meta would unwind the deal. Manus employees have joined Meta, capital has been transferred and the startup’s executives have joined the US firm’s rapidly expanding AI team.
Manus staffers have already moved into Meta offices in Singapore, while existing investors including Tencent Holdings Ltd., ZhenFund and Hongshan have received their proceeds, according to people familiar with the matter.
Brian Wong, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, told the outlet, "Beijing likely views this move as a justified tit-for-tat response and a mirror of the export controls, investment restrictions, and counter-tech transfer probes imposed by American authorities over the years."