In January, Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce said it would review the deal to see if it broke rules on foreign investment, technology transfers, or export controls. In March, Meta $META responded, saying the deal met all legal requirements and that it expected a positive outcome from the review. On Monday, Meta’s stock was down 0.2% in premarket trading.
The NDRC's move arrives weeks before a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The company's two founders — CEO Xiao Hong and chief scientist Ji Yichao — were called to Beijing for regulatory meetings in March and have since been prohibited from departing the country, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Work at Meta's Singapore location has continued regardless, with former Manus employees embedded there even as their founders remain confined to China, according to Reuters.
The decision carries implications beyond the deal itself. When China's Commerce Ministry opened its investigation in January, the central question was whether Manus' Singapore incorporation was enough to place the transaction beyond Beijing's reach — a practice sometimes called "Singapore washing." The NDRC's ruling makes clear that corporate geography does not insulate a deal from Chinese regulatory authority when the underlying technology and talent originated in China.
The broader pattern reflects how AI acquisitions are increasingly treated as capability transfers subject to government review rather than ordinary M&A. In the weeks surrounding the Manus decision, Chinese agencies directed prominent AI companies such as Moonshot AI and Stepfun to turn away American investment unless they receive advance clearance, Bloomberg reported, adding that ByteDance faces comparable constraints.
The mechanics of any divestiture remain unresolved. Money has already changed hands, Manus personnel have been absorbed into Meta's workforce, and backers including Tencent, ZhenFund, and Hongshan have cashed out their stakes, Bloomberg said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
