China blocks Meta's $2B Manus acquisition, forcing unwind

Chinese authorities blocked Meta's roughly $2B acquisition of Singapore-based agentic AI startup Manus, citing tech-leakage concerns. Meta is now preparing to unwind the deal; Benchmark and other US investors have already received returns, while several Asian backers face complications. Reuters and CNBC frame it as a 'draconian development' in the US-China AI rivalry.