China has blocked the acquisition of the agentic platform Manus, a platform created by Butterfly Effect, a subsidiary of the company. The move reflects the increasing complexity of AI and reflects China's position in the global market. Manus can be used to plan and reason through complex tasks, and is available globally through a web app and an array of different platforms. However, China has placed Manus' underlying algorithms under strict technology export controls. This move indicates that relocating to a neutral location does not necessarily exempt them from Chinese law.