Ministry of Commerce Responds to Meta's Acquisition of Manus: Companies Must Fulfill Legal Procedures
The Ministry of Commerce held a regular press conference today. Spokesperson He Yadong, responding to questions regarding Meta's acquisition of Manus, clearly stated that the Chinese government supports companies engaging in cross-border operations and technological cooperation as needed, but such activities must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and fulfill legal procedures. This is the Ministry of Commerce's second public statement on the acquisition, following its initial response on January 8th of this year.
The timeline goes back to December 30, 2025, when US tech giant Meta announced the completion of its acquisition of AI startup Manus.
Reports indicate that the negotiations, personally overseen by CEO Zuckerberg, were finalized in just over ten days, with a transaction value exceeding $2 billion (approximately RMB 14 billion), making it Meta's third-largest acquisition in its history.
Public information shows that Manus was founded by several Chinese entrepreneurs and is headquartered in Singapore. Founder Xiao Hong graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and is a serial entrepreneur.
Its product was officially launched in March 2025, positioned as a general-purpose AI agent capable of automatically completing complex tasks such as writing code, booking travel, and analyzing stocks with a single command.
Following the acquisition, Manus founder Xiao Hong will serve as Meta's Vice President, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Javier Olivan.
Industry insiders reveal that Meta's acquisition of Manus is a typical talent acquisition model, focusing not only on technology or products but also on the founding team.
The core characteristic of this model is: not buying the business, not acquiring intellectual property rights, and not eliminating the legal entity of the acquired company. One of the main purposes is to avoid anti-monopoly review.
Notably, He Yadong emphasized in both responses that companies engaging in outbound investment, technology export, data outflow, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and fulfill legal procedures.