China rejects claims of curbing US tech funding as Beijing pursues self-reliance

Beijing says door remains open

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展和改革委员会, NDRC) has denied reports that it has directed domestic technology firms to refuse US investment, after regulators last month blocked Meta Platforms’ proposed takeover of Manus. “We have never required Chinese tech firms not to accept foreign investment,” NDRC spokesman Li Chao said at a press briefing, adding that Beijing “supports Chinese firms to integrate into the global innovation network” and that “China’s door to the world will only be more open.”

The Manus flashpoint

The controversy stems from the NDRC’s decision to ask parties to cancel Meta’s planned acquisition of Manus, an AI start‑up registered in Singapore that developed its products in mainland China. The move fuelled wider worries that Beijing is moving to limit US capital in strategic tech sectors even as it talks up openness. It has been reported that Chinese regulators were planning stricter controls on US investment into leading AI firms, and Manus is reportedly exploring a roughly US$1 billion capital raise as one outcome of the unwinding.

Bigger picture: self‑reliance amid a tech cold war

For Western readers: this plays out against a backdrop of an intensifying US‑China tech rivalry, where export controls, investment screening and sanctions have reshaped how companies and governments manage sensitive technologies. Beijing is simultaneously courting foreign capital and more loudly backing home‑grown AI and semiconductor champions as part of a broader push for technological self‑reliance. Is China opening its markets or simply reshaping the rules? Regulators insist the aim is to protect national security while remaining outward‑facing — a balance that will keep investors watching closely.