China blocks the purchase of the AI ​​company Manus by Meta for 2 billion dollars

In an official announcement, the authorities in Beijing stated that the deal violates the country’s investment laws, and ordered the parties to cancel it. The decision also includes a ban on foreign investment in the company, and signals the hardening of China’s position regarding the transfer of sensitive technological assets to foreign hands.

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According to reports, Beijing sees artificial intelligence as a strategic infrastructure, and the current intervention highlights the country’s willingness to use regulatory tools to prevent knowledge leakage. The move is particularly unusual, because the deal has already started.

According to reports, Meta has already managed to integrate some of Manus’ technology into its products, which may make canceling the deal operationally and legally complex. Retroactive dissolution of this type of transaction may lead to disputes between the parties and create a problematic precedent for technology companies operating in the international arena.

Timing is not accidental

The timing is not accidental. The decision comes ahead of an expected summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where the two are expected to try to reduce tensions around trade and technology. In practice, the Chinese step signals that, at least in the field of artificial intelligence, the gaps between the powers are only widening.

Manus itself was founded in China, but last year moved its operational headquarters to Singapore following a fundraising round led by an American fund. It was later acquired by Meta, in a move that aroused suspicion on the part of the Chinese authorities that it was an attempt to circumvent local restrictions and take advanced technology out of the country.

Several central regulatory bodies – including the National Committee for Development and Reforms, the Ministry of Commerce and the Antitrust Authority – examined the deal at the same time. During the inspection, the authorities intensified the measures and even restricted the departure of two of the company’s founders from the country. Officials described the deal as an attempt to “empty” China’s technological knowledge base, and tested it through a series of mechanisms, including foreign investment laws, export controls and competition laws.

Meta has not yet responded to the decision, but in the past they claimed that the transaction met all the regulatory requirements, and that the company acted with complete transparency with the authorities. Now the company faces uncertainty – both in terms of the continued use of the technology and in terms of the legal consequences of canceling the deal.