Benjamin Wey has had a front-row seat for most of it after he arrived in the United States from Beijing as a young man and went on to earn two master’s degrees in business from Columbia University.
He has spent more than 30 years bridging US and Chinese capital markets, and today serves as CEO of New York Global Group and as Deputy Director of the China Mergers & Acquisitions Association.
From that vantage point, Benjamin Wey sees a deal market that is not shrinking so much as changing shape.
Three eras of China M&A
Benjamin Wey tends to describe the history of China cross-border M&A in three broad periods.
The first was an era of access. Foreign companies sought entry into the Chinese market through joint ventures and acquisitions, and Chinese companies sought access to Western capital markets through overseas listings.
Capital flowed toward growth, and the main question was how to get into the room.
The second was an era of expansion. As Chinese companies grew larger and better capitalized, outbound acquisitions surged.
Chinese buyers pursued brands, technology, natural resources, and real estate around the world, sometimes at valuations that surprised local markets.
The third, which Wey believes is still unfolding, is an era of scrutiny.
Beijing tightened controls on outbound investment it considered speculative. Washington expanded national security review of inbound deals and, more recently, introduced rules restricting certain US investments in Chinese technology sectors.
Deal-makers on both sides now operate in a far more regulated environment than they did a decade ago.
Where committed capital is still going
Despite the headlines, Benjamin Wey notes that capital has not stopped moving. It has become more selective and more strategic.
Sectors tied to everyday consumption, healthcare services, manufacturing supply chains, and energy transition continue to attract interest, particularly where deals can be structured to avoid sensitive technologies and data.
Much of the activity has shifted toward third markets as well. Rather than direct US-China transactions, companies increasingly pursue deals in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe, where both Chinese and Western capital compete and cooperate.
In Wey’s view, this is one of the most underappreciated developments in the market. The relationship between the two largest economies is increasingly expressed through deals that take place somewhere else.
Why today’s deals look different
Benjamin Wey argues that the transactions getting done now differ structurally from those that defined the last cycle in several ways.
- Smaller and more targeted. Large, headline-grabbing acquisitions have given way to minority stakes, joint ventures, and carve-outs that are easier to clear with regulators and easier to unwind if conditions change.
- Regulation designed in from the start. Where regulatory review was once treated as a closing condition, it is now a design constraint. Deal teams structure transactions around anticipated review, sometimes excluding particular assets, data, or technologies from the outset.
- More emphasis on operations. Buyers are paying less for growth stories and more for operating capability, supply chain resilience, and management depth. Due diligence has become longer and more demanding.
- Local partners matter more. With political sensitivities running high, deals increasingly depend on credible local partners who can speak to regulators, employees, and communities in each market.
The role of trust and experience
When regulation is complex and political risk is real, the advisors who add value are those who understand both business cultures, know how regulators on each side think, and have relationships built over many years.
That is a theme Wey returns to often. He has described his career as bridging two markets, and he believes the bridge has become more valuable precisely because it has become harder to cross.
Transactions that once succeeded on capital alone now succeed on judgment, patience, and credibility.
Looking ahead
Benjamin Wey does not expect a return to the expansionary deal environment of the 2010s. He does expect cross-border M&A involving Chinese companies and capital to remain a significant part of global markets, because the underlying economic ties are too large to disappear.
What will change, he believes, is who succeeds. The next chapter of China M&A will belong to deal-makers who treat regulation as part of the architecture, who look beyond the US-China axis to third markets, and who invest in relationships long before a transaction is on the table.
More on Benjamin Wey’s background and work is available at benjaminwey.com and on LinkedIn.
