An ordinary Chinese citizen who wishes to buy assets abroad can exchange only enough renminbi in a year to get $50,000. Fortunately for deal-hungry Chinese companies, they do not suffer the same constraints.

中国公民用人民币兑换外币以购买海外资产的上限是每人每年5万美元。幸运的是，中国的企业交易大户不受此类限制。

On Friday, Haier bought the General Electric appliance business for $5.4bn in cash. Dalian Wanda, earlier in January, acquired film studio Legendary Entertainment for $3.5bn after sniffing around Hollywood for years looking for content (in 2012 it grabbed cinema chain AMC Entertainment for $3bn). A Chinese group has jumped into the bidding war for Fairchild Semiconductor. And most brazenly, ChemChina is reportedly considering an all-cash bid worth SFr35bn for Syngenta AG. Just a few weeks into 2016, $12bn of Chinese outbound M&A has been announced — a pace that, if maintained, would shatter last year’s record of $112bn. The interest of Chinese companies abroad is natural. As the country has prospered, its companies have grown large enough to chase big targets in more mature markets. Their ability to apply lower operating costs has also enabled them to write bigger cheques.

上周五，海尔(Haier)斥资54亿美元现金收购了通用电气(GE)旗下电器业务。1月的早些时候，大连万达(Dalian Wanda)以35亿美元收购了电影制片公司传奇娱乐(Legendary Entertainment)，此前万达多年在好莱坞寻购内容（2012年该集团以30亿美元将连锁影院AMC娱乐收入囊中）。一家中国集团已投入仙童半导体公司(Fairchild Semiconductor)的竞购战。更大胆的是，中国化工(ChemChina)据报道正考虑以现金竞购市值350亿瑞士法郎的先正达公司(Syngenta AG)。2016年才开始几周，中国就公布了价值120亿美元的海外并购——如果保持这一势头，全年势必打破去年1120亿美元的纪录。中国企业对收购海外资产感兴趣很自然。随着中国逐渐变富，中国公司发展到足够规模，可以追逐更成熟市场的大目标。他们运用更低运营成本的能力，也使他们得以开出巨额支票。

A decade ago, political and regulatory resistance based on national security concerns was strong (consider failed bids for Unocal, Dubai World Ports and 3Com). And while concerns linger, Chinese companies have become much more sophisticated about navigating foreign deal processes and other nations have become tolerant of Chinese ownership.

10年前，基于国家安全考虑的政治和监管阻力很大（想想竞购优尼科(Unocal)、迪拜世界港口(Dubai World Ports)和3Com公司的失败）。虽然担忧仍在，但中国企业在把握海外交易流程方面已变得更加成熟，而其它国家也变得更能容忍中资。

Chinese buying of foreign companies does not always mean renminbi leaving the country. They may have foreign currency available for M&A, or can raise money abroad.

中国公司收购外国企业并不总是意味着人民币外流。这些公司可能以外币并购，或者在海外筹集资金。

For Chinese companies using their home currency, however, local banks and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have remained supportive of dealmaking for strategic assets. Some dealmakers note that the country could change its tune at any moment, as erratic monetary policymaking since last summer indicates.

然而，对于使用本国货币的中国企业，地方银行和国家外汇管理局(SAFE)仍会支持其获取战略资产的交易。一些交易撮合者指出，中国随时可能改变政策风向，正如去年夏季以来飘忽不定的货币政策制定所显示的那样。

But for companies looking to sell, the most capable and confident buyers are coming from the east.

但是对那些正在寻求出售的公司来说，最有实力和信心的买家来自东方。