Dealmaking within China is running at a record pace, with the value of domestic mergers and acquisitions this year totalling $77.5bn — the busiest-ever start to a year and almost three times the level in the same period of 2020, Refinitiv data show.

The investment frenzy, which gathered momentum in the second half of last year as China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic mounted, has come as Beijing has shifted its focus to domestic demand to power its economy amid tensions with the US.

“It is an exceptionally hot period for M&A” in China, said David Brown, PwC head of deals for Asia Pacific. He cited a “perfect storm of factors”, including demand for equity capital by domestic businesses as the economy recovered as well as government policy aimed at reducing reliance on overseas technology and markets.