China standalone investing

Analysis, views and statistics on China and standalone investing

What is a China standalone investing strategy?

A standalone investing strategy recognises China's weight in the world economy and treats it as a standalone asset class, in much the same way that investors think of the US, Japan, or Europe.

The IMF estimates that China is the second largest economy in the world, measured according to market exchange rates.

USD 1.94trn of estimated online retail sales in China in 2019 – 3x more than in the US.

In 2019, Chinese companies filed 58,990 patents, more than any other nation.

China accounted for 28.4% of global manufactured goods in 2018.

What is the benefit of a China standalone investing strategy?

Higher exposure to China's growth story. Global indices such as MSCI Emerging Markets and MSCI All Cap World Index (ACWI) tend to underrepresent China.

For example, China stocks are 4.9% of the MSCI ACWI1, but the IMF says that China accounted for more than 15% of the world economy in 2019.

By taking a dedicated approach, investors may get higher exposure than in a generic global equity allocation modeled on a benchmark.

China will overtake the US as the world's largest economy in 2026

China had 129 companies on the Fortune 500 list in 2019, more than any other country

Chinese tourists spent USD 277bn in 2018, making them the top spenders globally

China had the world's second largest bond market at the end of 2019