Analysts Warn China’s Offshore-Trading Crackdown May Push Investors to Other Routes

U.S.-based economists and business figures told The Epoch Times that Beijing’s crackdown on offshore stock-trading channels may make overseas investing harder for ordinary mainland Chinese investors, but is unlikely to end demand for assets outside China.

The comments followed an eight-agency campaign by Chinese authorities against offshore securities, futures, and fund platforms that had served mainland investors outside Beijing’s state-controlled investment channels.

David Huang, a U.S.-based economist, said the removal of such tutorials cuts off an information path for ordinary investors who had used social-media guides to learn how to access overseas markets.

The plan covers overseas institutions, mainland affiliates, intermediaries, websites, apps, internet platforms, and online content creators that Chinese authorities say helped mainland investors use offshore securities, futures, or fund services outside state-controlled channels.

It also names online content that includes marketing material, account-opening tutorials, and experience-sharing posts related to those services.

Chinese financial media later reported platform removals that matched that part of the campaign.

State-backed financial news agency Cailian Press reported on June 9 that Douyin had removed or restricted more than 1,500 pieces of cross-border investing content in roughly two weeks, including material the platform said violated rules against directing users to offshore account-opening services.

The content included tutorials on obtaining Hong Kong bank cards, opening securities accounts, or obtaining such services without required authorization, the report said.

State-owned 21st Century Business Herald reported that Xiaohongshu, another Chinese social platform, had earlier acted on 539 posts and 146 comments that promoted cross-border investing.

Huang said step-by-step online tutorials made offshore investing easier for ordinary mainland investors.

By removing those guides, he said, authorities are trying to “forcefully raise the threshold” for cross-border investing.

Demand for Overseas Assets

Jiang Pinchao, a renowned U.S.-based China watcher and an entrepreneur, said the crackdown may remove one route for investors to move assets overseas but does not change why many want to do so.

“China’s current economic condition is indeed very bad, so it is inevitable that people want to get out,” Jiang told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times.

Frank Xie, a professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken’s business school, said the restrictions could make such information more valuable, not less.

“The more the CCP bans this, the more precious and harder to find these videos may become,” Xie told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times. “There will always be people who use other ways to get around the firewall, or use other channels to send this related information to people who need it.”

He said some investors would continue to seek information on overseas investing, and some capital would continue to move overseas.

Jiang described the crackdown as part of a broader effort by Chinese authorities to pull private wealth back under state control.

The company said mainland Chinese-funded accounts accounted for about 13 percent of its total funded accounts at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The company said mainland China retail client assets under its consolidated accounts represented about 10 percent of total client assets at the end of 2025.

Wu Xiaobo, a Chinese financial writer known for chronicling China’s business and economic development, wrote in an article on state-censored Sina Finance that more than 5 million mainland investors had opened accounts with overseas brokerages to trade Hong Kong and U.S. stocks, with assets in those accounts estimated at 200 billion to 400 billion yuan (about $29.5 billion to $59.1 billion).

First Financial, in a report republished by the state-owned Shanghai Observer in May, cited market estimates that mainland client assets at Futu and Tiger were more than 250 billion yuan (about $36.9 billion). The report said the figure was based on available company disclosures and could be imprecise.

State-Controlled Routes

The CSRC has framed the campaign as investor protection and market regulation. It has directed investors toward state-controlled routes such as Hong Kong Stock Connect, qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) products, and Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect.

Those routes are more limited than direct app-based trading in Hong Kong and U.S. stocks. Stock Connect covers eligible Hong Kong-listed securities rather than the broader U.S. market. QDII products operate through approved institutions and quotas. Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect is limited by geography, product type, and eligibility rules.

Huang said Beijing’s emphasis on those channels is part of a broader effort to keep capital inside systems the state can monitor and restrict.

“If Chinese assets were really attractive, capital would flow from overseas into China, not from China to overseas,” Huang said.

Other Routes

Huang said determined investors with more resources may still seek private channels, overseas residency arrangements, or other ways to access foreign markets.

He said private methods may remain even if open internet brokerages are shut off, and underground money-transfer channels could become more active.

Jiang said some investors use business structures or overseas investment projects to move money abroad. He cited acquaintances who used U.S. L-1 visas to set up multinational companies or overseas investment projects.

“This kind of blocking cannot stop funds that truly want to flee and have the ability to flee,” Huang said.

Cheng Wen and Yi Ru contributed to this report.