China blocked Meta's $2 billion Manus AI acquisition, cutting off a key exit route for Chinese AI startups in Singapore.

China moved this week to unwind Meta's acquisition of Manus AI, a startup founded in China that relocated to Singapore before being acquired by Meta for $2 billion.

The blockade eliminates a major exit pathway for VC-backed Chinese AI companies. Without the ability to be acquired by foreign tech giants through Singapore-based entities, investor returns face new constraints.

The move underscores the widening separation between Chinese and American tech markets, and raises a strategic question for the US government on how to respond—including whether to reframe US openness as a recruitment tool for Chinese entrepreneurs.