China's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity remained resilient in 2008 despite the global financial meltdown, making it the best performer in the Asia region, according to information company Thomson Reuters.

M&A activity in the country was at an all-time high of $159.6 billion worth of deals last year, 44 percent more than in 2007, compared with the year-on-year 11.1 percent fall in Asia, excluding Japan, Thomson Reuters said in a report.

"China was the only country in the region to experience growth in such a tumultuous environment, and it's also the most targeted nation in Asia with a 26.9 percent market share, " the report pointed out.

"The market's better performance is mainly due to the fact that the impact of the economic crunch which started in the US is delayed when passing down to the domestic transaction activities, and the Beijing Olympics in August helped bolster the strong spirit of the market," said Xie Tao, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) transactions partner based in Beijing.

Xie added that unlike in other markets, Chinese companies are not in dearth of cash, which is crucial for M&A activity.

The largest transaction of the year was Aluminum Corp of China and Alcoa's stake purchase in Rio Tinto for $14.3 billion through their Singapore-based joint venture Shining Prospect Pte Ltd.