The Financial Silk Road

In November 2025, China’s outbound investment continued to rebound, rising 7% year-on-year as Chinese firms expanded into more than 150 countries (year to date), with especially strong growth in Belt and Road markets and a shift toward transferring technology and managerial know-how abroad. In contrast, inbound FDI declined, but the number of new foreign-invested enterprises surged and capital increasingly targeted high-tech and services. Foreign investors also returned strongly to Chinese equities, signalling renewed confidence in China’s long-term growth and technological upgrading.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said global investors are gradually returning to Chinese equities after years of losses, with the market having recovered about half of the $6 trillion lost between 2020 and 2022 and expects the rebound to continue into 2026. Other financial leaders, including Morgan Stanley’s CEO Ted Pick, highlighted strong growth potential in Chinese sectors like AI, robotics, EVs, and biotech.

China’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a third straight month in October to $3.34 trillion, their highest level since 2016, as gains in global asset prices offset pressure from a stronger US dollar. The increase reflects a long-term shift toward maintaining a stable, investment-driven reserve portfolio, with China also continuing its steady accumulation of gold holdings.

The 138th Canton Fair saw a record 310,000 overseas buyers, with U.S. participation up 14%, reflecting renewed interest in China’s manufacturing despite trade tensions. Rising attendance and $25.7 billion in intended export deals highlight China’s competitive production costs and the easing of tariffs, which are encouraging global buyers to return from alternative supply chains in Southeast Asia.

China Security Regulatory Commission’s Chairman Wu Qing visited France and Brazil to deepen regulatory cooperation and reassure global investors, meeting both foreign regulators and major financial institutions (including Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Barclays and UBS). His trip comes as China’s stock markets rebound, with Wu promoting reform priorities and expanded foreign participation amid a strong recovery in the Shanghai Composite Index since he took office in early 2024.

Hong Kong has launched the live trial of the EnsembleTX platform, enabling real-money transactions with tokenized deposits and assets as part of its push toward a broader digital finance ecosystem. By expanding from sandbox testing to real settlement among major financial institutions (including Western banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered as well as industry giants as Blackrock and Franklin Templeton), Hong Kong aims to boost its capabilities amid parallel tokenization initiatives in regional rival Singapore.

HSBC announced that its retail gold token has exceeded $1 billion in trading volume, reflecting strong demand for regulated, tokenized real-world assets as global banks expand digital finance offerings. The milestone highlights Hong Kong’s role as a supportive hub for tokenization and comes as HSBC scales its blockchain-based products, including digital bonds and tokenized deposits, amid rising investor interest in blockchain-native financial instruments.

Hong Kong’s IPO rally was hesitant in November as three of four newly listed companies, including Pony AI and WeRide, closed below their offer prices, highlighting weakening sentiment amid market volatility and doubts over unprofitable tech firms. The pullback follows months of overheated demand fuelled by regulatory changes and oversubscription, even as many of the high-growth listings continue to post losses.

Despite slower growth at home, Tencent reported strong third-quarter results with profit up 19% and revenue up 15%, driven by surging international gaming sales and AI-enhanced online advertising. The company emphasized expanding AI integration across its products and services as international games, ad revenue, and cloud-related business services continued to fuel its diversification and competitiveness.

Chinese-backed e-commerce and logistics platforms such as TikTok Shop, Lazada, and J&T are rapidly gaining market share and reaching profitability across the Southeast Asia region, signalling a major milestone in China’s export of its digital business models. Their success (fuelled by strong logistics, rising demand for Chinese brands and heavy investment in AI and infrastructure from both US and Chinese big-tech firms) is increasingly reshaping the region’s tech and retail landscape, with localization seen as a key competitive advantage.

A new AI-driven stock index created by Gao Hua Securities and Baidu delivered a 23.2% return in its first year, outperforming traditional dividend benchmarks, and demonstrating the potential for large language models (LLM) to power fully automated investment products. The index selects and rebalances stocks entirely through Baidu’s LLM using public data, signalling a shift toward AI-based passive investing. The approach still needs to be proven across different market cycles.

The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into a CRRC subsidiary involved in a bid for Lisbon’s light rail project, examining whether the company benefited from Chinese state subsidies that could distort competition under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation. This marks the EU’s second probe into CRRC amid rising geopolitical scrutiny, as Chinese firms face increasing regulatory pressure and complaints of discriminatory treatment in the European market.

Starting from APM Terminals (Netherlands), the Danish shipping giant Maersk is accelerating its decarbonization push by deploying electric terminal tractors powered by CATL batteries and manufactured by Sany, expanding initial trials into regular operations and planning to replace five hundred diesel vehicles by 2030. Leveraging China’s battery technology and manufacturing scale, the company aims to electrify its highest-fuel-consuming equipment while tackling challenges such as battery supply, cost, and access to clean electricity across its global port network.

China and Guinea have officially launched production at the Simandou iron ore project, a $20 billion venture that could eventually supply up to 120 million tons of high-grade ore annually and reduce China’s dependence on Australian and Brazilian imports. Although output remains limited for now, the massive mine-rail-port system—built by Chinese firms and involving Rio Tinto and multiple Chinese state-owned partners—is expected to reshape global iron ore pricing and bolster China’s long-term resource security once fully ramped up by 2028.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 infrastructure drive is fuelling huge demand for international contractors, with Chinese construction firms emerging as key partners on mega-projects like the $63.2 billion Diriyah development near Riyadh. These projects, part of the kingdom’s push to diversify its economy, involve extensive joint ventures and are expected to significantly boost GDP, create jobs, and attract tourism.

Key sources: Caixin Global, China Banking News, The Wall Street Journal, …