China's State Council has published a stricter outbound-investment framework that took effect on June 1, 2026, codifying the legal approach Beijing used in April to unwind Meta's $2 billion acquisition of AI-agent startup Manus. The deal was announced in December 2025 and ordered reversed by the National Development and Reform Commission on national-security grounds.
The rules assert Chinese jurisdiction based on where a technology, its intellectual property, and its key engineering talent originated, not where the company is registered. They explicitly require approval for cross-border transfers of personnel and IP in sensitive sectors, directly targeting moves like Manus's relocation to Singapore before the takeover.
The framework deepens the US-China split over AI. It sits alongside expanded travel restrictions on top Chinese AI researchers and reported instructions to leading startups, including Moonshot and StepFun, to reject US-origin capital without prior clearance.