China’s venture capital (VC) market opened 2026 on firmer ground, defying a global slowdown in deal volume. In January, both deal count and disclosed funding value rose year-on-year (YoY). The total number of VC deals announced in China YoY increased by 15% as opposed to the global total, which declined by 23% during the same period. Meanwhile, the corresponding funding value for China increased by 42% YoY, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The combination of growth in deal volume and higher deal value indicates a healthier funding cadence, potentially reflecting improving business models and renewed appetite in innovation areas. Moreover, rise in deal volume despite a global pullback indicates that China is capturing incremental deal flow while many markets are retrenching. The US also saw contraction, with deal volume down by 15%, and other major hubs weakening as well (India down 18%; the UK down 21%).”
This shift suggests China is taking a larger slice of worldwide venture activity and its position strengthened in terms of volume. An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database revealed that China accounted for around 24% share of the total number of VC deals announced globally in January 2026, up from 16% a year earlier.
China’s share of global deal value eased to 5.3%, from 11.6% a year earlier not because China weakened in absolute terms, but because global value expansion was disproportionately concentrated in the US. The global backdrop was dominated by an outsized jump in the US, that registered more than fourfold (4x) jump in funding value.
Bose concludes: “The January numbers point to a shift in relative momentum. China has improved its standing in volume terms, but sustaining this position will depend on consistent capital deployment through the year. If other markets remain subdued, China’s role in global venture activity is likely to become more pronounced in 2026.”
Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain.
