When Jonathan Zhu left Morgan Stanley to spearhead Bain Capital’s expansion in Asia in 2006, private equity was in its infancy in the region, the world economy was booming and China-US relations were thriving.

Fast forward 13 years and Zhu, still at Bain as co-head of its private equity business in Asia, is surveying a much worse economic and geopolitical landscape. Only last week, the US branded China a “currency manipulator”, escalating a brewing trade war and causing a rout in global markets.