Even as the world is in awe of Chinese economic growth over the last 18 years, it hasn’t necessarily translated into returns for investors. In this period, China became the world’s second-largest economy just behind the US, but its main stock market index — the Shanghai Composite Index — has delivered zero returns to investors.
The Shanghai Composite, which tracks all stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is currently trading at similar levels as it did in early 2007. The Hang Seng index, in which Chinese giants like Tencent, Alibaba, and Meituan are listed also delivered near to zero returns in this period.
In contrast, the US S&P500 surged over 250% and India’s Nifty 50 gained nearly 500% during the same period.
This poor showing is even more surprising because China’s GDP more than doubled between 2008 and 2024. China is often praised for its massive infrastructure expansion, technology growth, and rising exports….
