Last year's record level of Chinese merger and acquisition activity will be tough to match in 2017. While conditions globally still look favorable for continued dealmaking, the so-called "Trump effect" is looming large for economies, corporations and private equity investors.
U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign rhetoric threatened an aggressive protectionist strategy that could jeopardize trade with China, with the prospect of new tariffs on imports and the overt use of monetary policy to directly intervene in international currency markets. However, such threats may have been designed mostly to enhance Washington's negotiation position with respect to future trade deals.
