China, Meta, Manus — And The New Rules Of Tech Sovereignty

China has moved to block Meta’s acquisition of Manus.At first glance, this looks like a corporate deal gone sideways. But the deeper story is about sovereignty, jurisdiction, and the growing reality that advanced technology is no longer being treated like ordinary software.In this episode of Rethinking Tech, Aparna and Harinda unpack why China can still assert control over a company no longer framed as fully Chinese, why the White House stepped in so quickly, and what this tells us about the shifting rules of global tech power.This is not really a Meta-versus-Manus story.It is a China-versus-US story playing out through one transaction.What this episode exploresWhy China blocked the Meta–Manus dealHow sovereignty is being used as a tool of tech controlWhy AI agent systems may now be treated as strategic infrastructureThe parallels between China’s move here and US chip restrictions on ChinaWhy this may be a test case for much bigger fights to comeWhy this mattersIf countries can continue asserting control over companies based on origin, technical lineage, or strategic value, then cross-border tech deals are entering a very different era.This episode looks at what happens when governments stop treating AI as a market product — and start treating it as power.About Rethinking TechRethinking Tech explores the intersection of technology, geopolitics, business, and ethics — focusing on how systems actually work, not just how they’re talked about.