China has blocked a $5.4 billion acquisition of Swiss engineering giant ABB’s robotics division by Japan’s SoftBank Group, raising questions about whether Beijing is responding to Washington’s restrictions on artificial intelligence hardware and investments.
The decision, confirmed by ABB on Nov. 5, comes less than two weeks after Chinese authorities condemned proposed American restrictions on technology investments, accusing Washington of abusing national security justifications to obstruct legitimate business activity.
China’s Ministry of Commerce also warned on Oct. 24 that it reserved the right to take countermeasures against the United States.
Although Beijing has not publicly connected its decision to American semiconductor restrictions, the intervention highlights a growing contradiction in China’s position: condemning Washington’s use of national security controls while increasingly employing similar measures to safeguard its own strategic technologies.
China moves to protect robotics technology and data
In its Nov. 5 statement, ABB confirmed that SoftBank had informed the company that China’s Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review had “prohibited the acquisition of the ABB Robotics business in China.”
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ABB said the two companies remained in close dialogue and were “working constructively on the transaction.”
The prohibition affects the Chinese portion of the business and does not necessarily mean the entire international acquisition has been terminated.
According to Reuters, Chinese authorities were concerned that sensitive industrial data and intellectual property could be transferred overseas and potentially used to train foreign AI models.
Particular attention reportedly focused on SoftBank’s relationship with OpenAI, the American company behind ChatGPT.
In an Oct. 1 announcement, SoftBank confirmed its cumulative investment in OpenAI had reached $64.6 billion, giving the Japanese investment firm approximately 13 percent ownership.
The ABB acquisition was intended to accelerate SoftBank’s expansion into physical AI, which combines advanced artificial intelligence with robotic systems capable of performing tasks in the real world.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI,” founder Masayoshi Son declared when the acquisition was announced in October 2025.
China is ABB Robotics’ largest individual market, accounting for roughly 30 percent of the division’s business. The company also operates substantial manufacturing and research facilities in China, making Chinese regulatory approval especially important.
Under the reported concerns, technologies and data developed within China could eventually strengthen foreign competitors, including American AI companies.
China has not publicly demonstrated that the acquisition would result in such transfers or that they would threaten national security.
Beijing echoes the restrictions it condemns
The decision is particularly significant because China has repeatedly criticized Washington for employing national security arguments to restrict technology exports and investments.
On Oct. 22, the U.S. Treasury Department announced proposed regulations expanding its outbound investment security program.
The proposed measures cover semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, high-performance computing, hypersonic systems, and biotechnology.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the restrictions, saying they would prevent American adversaries from using U.S. investments to develop technologies that threaten national security.
Beijing responded sharply.
In an Oct. 24 statement, China’s Ministry of Commerce characterized the American proposals as a “typical case of overstretching the concept of national security.”
It accused Washington of politicizing economic relations and disrupting normal business cooperation.
The ministry also declared that China would “reserve the right to take corresponding measures.”
Less than two weeks later, Beijing invoked its own foreign investment security review mechanism to prohibit the acquisition of a strategically important robotics business.
The timing raises the possibility that China’s intervention forms part of a broader response to American technology restrictions, although no direct retaliatory connection has been established.
Washington has spent years restricting China’s access to advanced AI processors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, arguing that the technology could strengthen the country’s military and intelligence capabilities.
Those restrictions have evolved over time. In January 2026, the U.S. Commerce Department announced a revised licensing policy, allowing applications for Nvidia H200 and comparable processors to be evaluated individually under strict security conditions.
“Export controls should evolve with changes in technology, while protecting national security,” Commerce official Jeffrey Kessler said.
Beijing’s reported concerns about robotics data reaching American AI developers closely resemble Washington’s concerns that American hardware and expertise could accelerate Chinese AI development.
However, there is an important distinction: China’s latest decision directly targets a Japanese company’s acquisition of a Swiss business, rather than an American company seeking to invest in China.
The move may also reflect broader concerns about Japanese control of industrial technology and China’s determination to preserve its domestic robotics capabilities.
Nevertheless, Beijing’s willingness to invoke national security considerations similar to those it criticizes in Washington demonstrates how the competition is expanding beyond semiconductor exports into corporate acquisitions and ownership of industrial data.
Technology restrictions become a two-way weapon
China’s intervention is not an isolated development.
In April, Beijing blocked Meta’s acquisition of Manus, an AI startup with Chinese origins that had relocated to Singapore. The decision reflected growing scrutiny of technology transfers involving companies with operations or expertise originating in China.
More recently, Chinese authorities proposed restrictions covering advanced AI systems, software, and other strategically important technologies.
An Oct. 28 Reuters analysis examined how Beijing is seeking to protect Chinese-developed AI capabilities while allowing domestic companies to expand internationally.
The emerging approach would permit Chinese businesses to sell certain AI services overseas while limiting foreign access to the underlying technology and intellectual property.
That strategy bears similarities to American efforts to preserve a technological advantage through export controls, although the two countries differ in their legal systems, regulatory procedures, and stated security priorities.
China’s latest intervention also carries immediate commercial consequences.
According to Reuters’ Nov. 5 reporting, SoftBank shares closed down approximately 6.8 percent, while ABB shares fell about 2.7 percent following the news.
The prohibition threatens a major component of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s strategy to expand beyond conventional AI infrastructure into industrial robotics.
For ABB, the decision creates uncertainty over a transaction that would have generated billions of dollars in proceeds.
The consequences could extend to other companies pursuing international technology acquisitions involving Chinese operations, data, or intellectual property.
A Nov. 5 Reuters Breakingviews analysis warned that Beijing’s increasingly restrictive approach could complicate other major cross-border transactions, as foreign investors face greater uncertainty about obtaining Chinese regulatory approval.
That uncertainty presents a potential contradiction for Beijing.
China continues to encourage foreign investment and frequently criticizes American restrictions for undermining international economic cooperation. Yet its own security reviews may make foreign companies increasingly reluctant to pursue acquisitions involving Chinese technology assets.
The dispute also illustrates how the AI rivalry is becoming more complicated than a simple competition over advanced chips.
Washington is seeking to control who can acquire American computing hardware and investment capital. Beijing is increasingly seeking to control who can acquire Chinese-developed technologies, industrial expertise, and valuable training data.
Both governments argue that such restrictions are necessary to protect national security.
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