At the same time, the Manus case raises questions about how far such a reversal can go once technology, talent and capital have crossed borders.
China has handed Manus and Meta a preliminary deadline of several weeks to unwind the deal and fully restore Manus’ Chinese assets to their original state, The Wall Street Journal reported on Apr 27, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, this includes stripping any previously transferred data or technology from Meta. Beijing has also considered imposing penalties on Manus and Meta if the deal cannot be fully rescinded, the report said.
“The Manus decision is largely symbolic – unwinding the deal is impractical at this point since capital and technology transfers were complete,” Gavekal Technologies research director Laila Khawaja told Bloomberg News.
“Beijing’s remaining leverage lies in controlling the cross-border movement of Manus executives and potentially forcing their resignations from Meta,” she added.
IMPACTING GLOBAL EXPANSION
Analysts said the implications of the Manus case extend well beyond a single deal, potentially reshaping how Chinese startups raise foreign capital, structure overseas expansions and pursue cross-border acquisitions.
More Chinese technology firms have been eyeing expansion overseas, in a trend known domestically as “going global”, or “chuhai” in Chinese, driven by the search for new markets, capital and technological access.
China’s non-financial outbound direct investment reached US$132.09 billion in the first 11 months of 2025, exceeding the full-year 2024 total, according to official data, underscoring sustained momentum in companies moving abroad.
Offshore hubs such as Singapore have long served as bases for headquarters relocation, centres for deal structuring and gateways to international capital, analysts said.
Data from Singapore’s Economic Development Board shows Chinese companies accounted for 20.6 per cent of fixed-asset investment commitments in 2025, up from 2.5 per cent a year earlier and 2.9 per cent in 2023, highlighting Singapore’s growing appeal as a destination for Chinese firms expanding overseas.
But the Manus case suggests that simply moving a company offshore may no longer be enough, analysts and legal experts said.
