#65 -- US Stock Exchanges -- Chinese Tech Stocks Bankrolled by the US.....
Money laundering.....military-civil fusion....or business model genius
As of April 2026, over 286 Chinese companies are still listed on the US stock exchanges representing $1.1 trillion dollars in market value. To put this in perspective, the 2024 Venture Capital market in the USA was ~$1.29 trillion dollars. Since 2024 alone, 48 companies have listed on US exchanges, increasing the market cap by ~$250M. Several administrations have attempted to block, change or de-list these companies for a variety of reasons centered around national security. The unique listing structure(VIE) has opened the gate for less financial scrutiny and risky indirect economic interests. Additionally, the lack of transparency of ownership raises concern over state owned vs “private”. The US big names are all invested in these stocks…..Blackrock, Vanguard, Goldman, JPMorgan……layered below them are the money managers in pension funds. Over the last 3 years, 56 of the 74 largest US pension funds invested $68B! These include massive investments from NY, CA, TX, WA and MN.
LETS SHIFT THE INVESTMENT…..
Investing in the USA and Partner Nations
Should investors or stewards of funds(pension, hedge) be investing in ownership shells of shadow organizations? Or should they be investing in organizations, companies and people who are held to higher transparences and governance within the borders of the people they serve? What if this money was funneled to US based technology and critical problem solving technology? What if this money filtered to venture capital focused on dual use technology or likeminded people and companies speeding up the procurement systems, integrating the tech we have and solving hard problems across generations.
But what is really behind this…….is this economic statecraft at it finest, a brilliant leveraged business model, or just plain luck…..
Money makes people and organizations do stupid things. Just like individuals make mistakes timing the market, the same is true for national policies and market regulations. Decades ago the push was on to transform China’s businesses into replicas of western systems. With drastically different systems, it was never going to work…….it couldn’t work…..most were blinded by the light of developing this new field of corporate dreams. Those days are gone.
Is it Money Laundering?
With limited to no governance around financials, it’s easier to manipulate. If you get the right people in positions of power…..you can exchange large sums of capital, move markets and influence state, local and national interests. ADRs are a great way to funnel cash for high net worth individuals, foreign companies with limited to no exposure to the US market and attract retail investors at scale. It’s kind of like another gambling mecca like Macao, Vegas, Cambodia. Same suits, different arena.
Is it Military-Civil Fusion?
What a great model: Use other countries money to design, develop and implement technologies which defend, protect and deter global dominance. The middle kingdom has the name for a reason. The blend of “private” and public organizations is how size, scale and speed has had success. The CCP likes to work through other to get things done.
Is it Luck?
We get high with a little help from our friends. The open US markets can be manipulated if not governed properly. The systems are not perfect, but they do have enormous checks and balances in place to ultimately fix, change and correct. With
Key Chinese Stocks on U.S. Exchanges
Below is a selection of notable Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges, often traded as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), based on market capitalization, sector, and recent performance data from various sources:
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) - E-commerce and technology conglomerate.
PDD Holdings (PDD) - Parent of Pinduoduo and Temu, e-commerce platforms.
NetEase, Inc. (NTES) - Internet and gaming services provider.
JD.com, Inc. (JD) - Major e-commerce retailer.
Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) - Leading search engine and AI company.
Li Auto, Inc. (LI) - Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer.
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) - Online travel services.
Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC) - Operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and other restaurant brands in China.
KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE) - Online real estate platform.
NIO Inc. (NIO) - Electric vehicle manufacturer.
XPeng Inc. (XPEV) - Electric vehicle manufacturer.
Vipshop Holdings Limited (VIPS) - Online discount retailer.
MINISO Group Holding Limited (MNSO) - Lifestyle products retailer.
Huazhu Group Limited (HTHT) - Hotel management company.
Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (YMM) - Digital freight platform, often called "Uber for trucks."
Futu Holdings Limited (FUTU) - Online brokerage and wealth management.
Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) - Music streaming and entertainment.
Bilibili Inc. (BILI) - Video-sharing and entertainment platform.
Tuya Inc. (TUYA) - IoT cloud platform.
GDS Holdings Limited (GDS) - Data center services provider.
Why does it matter? Why should we care? What happens if we do nothing?
All of the US listed Chinese stocks have ties back into key competitive technologies. In fact, the current tariffs are being side stepped with logistics automation platforms who are funded, directly and indirectly through the listed companies allowing Chinese companies to side step fees and costs. Consumer technology products are being used to gather information and human patterns which could be used in nefarious ways. The point is not that the fees or tariffs are not being paid, but that we are solving complex problems already…..just not in our back yard and with our technology. This works against the ethos of how America was built. But, today, there is an opportunity to invest, solve and integrate US technology/knowledge/money to solve big problems.
Where is your money going?
God Bless America!
Tyler
