SHANGHAI, May 21 (Reuters) - Global companies are increasingly eager to partner with innovative Chinese firms as mounting economic and geopolitical risks fuel a dealmaking boom, JPMorgan's Global Chair of Investment Banking Anu Aiyengar said in an interview.

With CEOs relying on scale and acquisitions to weather global volatility, dealmakers are on track for another record year in 2026. American and European companies, Aiyengar said, increasingly view tie-ups with established Chinese players as less risky than going it alone in turbulent times.

"Collaborations, partnerships, and acquisitions all are on the table," said Aiyengar.

"There's so much innovation that is happening in biotech. And same in the area of technology. And that's a new framing of China, which I think is in the healthy direction," she added.

That shift is already visible in pharmaceuticals, where global drugmakers are racing to licence Chinese-developed experimental medicines to cut costs ahead of looming patent expirations. Industry analysts expect such licensing deals to hit a fresh record this year.

Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) has seen a rebound in 2026 in M&A, with activity up 57% from a year ago, the strongest start since 2022, according to LSEG data.

POLITICS RESHAPES DEALMAKING FLOWS

During Trump's visit to Beijing, China and the U.S. agreed to establish a Board of Investment aimed at boosting cross-border flows in non-sensitive sectors.

Deals are also getting bigger. LSEG counted a record 68 transactions worth $10 billion or more last year - double 2024's tally.

"The market continues to reward scale. There's a scale premium, right? Same industry. Larger company trades at a higher multiple than the smaller company," Aiyengar said.

Chinese outbound activity is also climbing. Overseas purchases by Chinese firms reached $9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the highest since early 2021 and a fifth straight quarterly gain, according to Rhodium. Mining and energy led the way, including Zijin Gold's $4 billion takeover of Canada's Allied Gold in January.

Trump's second term has created more uncertainty, with abrupt policy shifts and volatile relations with China and Russia complicating long-range planning.

Aiyengar said JPMorgan urges clients not to "make long-term decisions based on short-term news," but instead build flexibility and "more levers that you can pull."

Geopolitics is nonetheless redrawing deal maps, with cross-border M&A increasingly flowing along politically aligned corridors, LSEG noted. The risks were on display in April, when China blocked Meta's $2 billion-plus acquisition of AI startup Manus on national security grounds.