A Chinese national flag and a company flag fly in front the logo of China National Chemical Corporation at the company's headquarters in Beijing, Mar 24, 2015. China National Chemical Corp purchased Swiss-based Syngenta AG for about $43 billion in 2016. [Photo/IC]

China has surpassed the US as the largest source of outbound mergers-and-acquisition activity as a built-up mainland looks for other investment opportunities overseas.

According to Dealogic, in the first nine months of the year the total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by Chinese companies jumped 68 percent year-on-year to $173.9 billion. It was the first time China has done more deals than the US. Dealogic said the US had been the top cross-border acquirer since 2008.