I now feel China stocks are less familiar, less stable, less reputable than U.S. stocks or even Singapore stocks.

* U.S. corporates answer to shareholders and try to create value for shareholders. (Same can be said of Singapore listed companies.) China’s largest listed companies mostly answer to government. China companies seldom pay dividend. Out of the thoudsans of China stocks, I’m sure some are well-managed, creating good shareholder values, but I don’t know how to identify them.

* China A-shares are bought and sold mostly by retail investors. Retail investors are more irrational, leading to volatility.

Q: when you read positive news about China stocks vs positive news about U.S. stocks, would you invest?

China news is state-controlled, esp. positive news. Even foreign news agencies are “influenced”. No such thing in the U.S., because news organizations are skeptical or critical about the Fed, White House or other government agencies.

In terms of earnings, China listed companies are more affected by government policy than their American peers. American large-caps are more global than China large-caps, so the former are slightly less affected by U.S. government policies.

Fundamentally, China remains a command economy, where the CCP has tight control over most listed companies. The 2021-2022 crackdown on tech companies was a recent example. I can’t think of such a crackdown happening in the U.S.

Therefore, predicting policy direction is key to investing in China stocks. Public news is tricky to follow. ML.J told me as early as the 2000s that as a businessman in China, he finds policy reading a crucial business skill.