Overview

• A $10,000 stake in China’s CSI 300 index a decade ago would have gained around $3,000, versus more than $20,000 in returns from the S&P 500 over the same period.
• After tightening IPO vetting reduced new listings to one-third of 2023 levels in 2024, regulators have fast-tracked unprofitable and strategic tech firms, boosting 2025 IPO volume by about 30 percent year-to-date.
• Companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen distributed a record 2.4 trillion yuan in dividends in 2024, yet buybacks on the CSI 300 totaled just 0.2 percent of market value compared with roughly 2 percent among S&P 500 firms.
• Retail investors remain cautious after episodes of IPO frauds, disclosure investigations and delistings such as the removal of Beijing Zuojiang Technology from the Shenzhen exchange.
• Persistent equity underperformance has helped push China’s household savings rate to about 35 percent of disposable income, curbing consumer spending and weakening the impact of US tariffs.