(Reuters) -Meta Platforms has struck a deal with Tencent Holdings to sell a new, lower-priced version of its virtual-reality (VR) headset in China, a return to the country 14 years after Facebook was shut out, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The preliminary deal will make Tencent the exclusive seller of Meta's headsets in China, the Journal said, citing sources.

Tencent will start selling the headset beginning late 2024, the report added.

Meta and Tencent did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Facebook has been banned in China since 2009.

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala)