Beijing sends warning on ‘de-Chinaing’ by blocking sale of Singapore-based AI firm Manus to Meta

BEIJING – China has sought for years to exert influence over business deals beyond its home turf. Still, its decision to press Meta Platforms to unwind a US$2 billion (S$2.6 billion) acquisition of AI start-up Manus marks a step unlike anything it’s tried before. The country’s powerful state planner decreed on April 27 that the deal must be cancelled – four months after it was sealed. In doing so, it’s targeting a US tech juggernaut with little to no business operations in China and a start-up that, while originally from China, had legally moved to Singapore. The two companies have…