Japan is set for its biggest US acquisition spree as advisers tell chief executives to pounce on deals this year while Chinese companies are “handicapped” by trade war tensions.

The advice of bankers and lawyers to accelerate US-targeted deals has intensified over recent months in line with the surge in trade war rhetoric and the perception that Chinese acquisition attempts will be stymied by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, the agency that vets foreign investment for national security threats.

The advice already appears to be having an effect. Japanese companies have spent ￥4.7tn ($42bn) on 177 deals in the US since January 1, putting them on track to beat a record of 178 deals set in the first nine months of 1990, according Tokyo-based research group Recof.