Catherine Thorbecke, Columnist

China’s Manus AI Clampdown Will Backfire

March 26, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Previously she was a tech reporter at CNN and ABC News.

If China loves Manus AI, it should let it go.
Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

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China is on the verge of turning a tech success story into a painful self-own.

When news first broke that Meta Platforms Inc. was acquiring buzzy agentic AI startup Manus last December, even state-backed media celebrated. Local entrepreneurs and social media commentators saw the multibillion-dollar deal for what it was: proof that China can still produce technology that a Silicon Valley titan wants badly enough to buy.