Meta’s surprise purchase of Manus, a Chinese startup known for its advanced AI agents, caught Beijing by surprise and ordered the two companies to unwind the $2 billion deal . The Chinese tech giant Tencent, which was among the startup’s initial investors during early funding rounds, is taking the lead in buying back the startup at the same price. According to the Financial Times , other former investors, including ZhenFund and HSG — China-based venture capital firms — while former U.S. investors like Benchmark are unlikely to join the potential consortium. This move marks Beijing’s increasing protectiveness of its AI companies and experts, which it considers strategic assets in its heated rivalry with the U.S. We can see this in the Chinese government’s five-year plan, which is doubling down on technological self-reliance . It has even gotten to the point that AI experts, even those working in private firms, are now required to secure approval before traveling internationally . U.S.…