China orders Meta to unwind $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus

China's National Development and Reform Commission has formally ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of Manus, the agentic AI startup, in a statement issued The NDRC's instruction concludes a four-month regulatory process that began after the deal was announced in December 2025. Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao have been barred from leaving China since March 2026 after being summoned to Beijing for questioning Manus was founded The Chinese government's concern centered on what category of asset was being transferred. China's Ministry of Commerce launched a formal probe in January 2026, framing its review around export control laws and whether an AI team constitutes a technology export when the asset being transferred is not a conventional product but a team, a system, and operational know-how embedded in a Chinese-founded organisation. The Washington Post reported last week that the Manus case had revealed what Chinese tech workers described as "a new red line": the point at which a Chinese-founded, Singapore-incorporated AI company becomes subject to Chinese state oversight over its ability to exit to a US acquirer. That red line has now been formalised The Meta-Manus case is the direct origin of the broader Chinese policy to require government approval before Chinese tech companies accept US capital. The policy, reported