As of December 19, 2025, the ETF market in the Chinese mainland has surged past 5.78 trillion yuan ($820 billion) in assets under management, marking a year-to-date growth of 53 percent. This landmark figure underscores a remarkable rally in 2025, driven by robust retail participation and supportive regulations.
Financial information provider Wind reports that onshore ETFs in the Chinese mainland added over 2 trillion yuan since the start of the year. Notably, it took just four months for ETFs to climb from 4 trillion to 5 trillion yuan in 2025, compared with 14 years to reach the first trillion.
"For individual investors, ETFs provide one-click access to a basket of key stocks in a target sector, directly addressing the challenges of stock-picking and high research costs," says Yao Ziwei, chief analyst at China Securities.
On the policy front, the Chinese mainland issued a sweeping nine-point guideline in 2024, outlining a blueprint for long-term capital market development and introducing a fast-track approval channel for ETFs.
The momentum extends beyond ETFs. The Fund of Funds market also enjoyed a breakout year: as of December 17, 79 new FOFs launched in 2025, raising 80.35 billion yuan—exceeding the combined total of the previous three years.
Industry data reveal that ETFs and FOFs are channeling long-term capital into hard-tech sectors, fueling innovation and industrial upgrading. Sustained institutional inflows via these products are helping to reduce market volatility and foster a more mature, rational investment environment.
Yao highlights products like the STAR 50 ETF, which not only offer retail investors exposure to hard-tech growth but also act as stabilizers and sources of long-term capital for the STAR Market.
Reference(s):
China's ETF market surges over 50% in 2025, hitting record high
cgtn.com
