China & Hong Kong Stock Picks (June-August 2026)
This post covers about three (summer) months worth of Chinese stock research from various sources plus our China, Hong Kong & Macau Stock Index (🇨🇳 China (472) / 🇭🇰 Hong Kong (109) / 🇲🇴 Macau (12)) has been updated – including flags after the tickers to denote domiciles (Note: The now defunct Webb-site Database had a good domicile page while Google/AI was used to determine subsequent domiciles – meaning there might be inaccuracies. Stocks with only Chinese listings are usually China domiciled).
In the alt-media/alt-podcasting space, The Duran geopolitical podcast had this recent and fascinating discussion with Cynthia Chung who, as with Desmond Shum (the author of Red Roulette: An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today’s China and who’s billionaire (now ex-) wife Whitney Duan (Duan Weihong) “disappeared” for several years in a corruption crackdown), is worth paying attention to for insights beyond the usual pro- and anti-PRC China shrills:
🎥 How China Escaped Banker Shock Therapy w/ Cynthia Chung (The Duran) July 2026
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:21 Cynthia Chung’s links and background
00:01:13 Setting up China’s economic history
00:02:40 The 2008 financial crash and Inside Job
00:04:45 Hank Paulson: Goldman Sachs to Treasury Secretary
00:06:50 Origins of China’s social credit myth
00:07:45 Alibaba, Tencent and Goldman Sachs ties
00:10:10 What are peer to peer loans
00:14:52 China shuts down predatory lending, Jack Ma sidelined
00:18:37 Gladio and psychological warfare narratives
00:20:03 What China actually looks like today
00:22:53 Stability versus competition in China
00:25:22 How China escaped shock therapy
00:26:43 Crossing the river by feeling the stones
00:29:53 Decentralization and fierce competition
00:31:57 Government’s role in daily life
00:33:43 The bird in a cage theory
00:38:24 Confucianism and resistance to extractive capitalism
00:46:51 Should the West fear China’s rise
To summarize the talk: China’s much maligned social credit score system is actually pretty normal e.g. like getting points off your driver’s license for reckless driving.
On the other hand, another social credit score system was started by Chinese Big Tech which got shut down by the government. Alibaba and Tencent (under ex-Goldman Sachs executives) were at the forefront of what people like Hank Paulson wanted to see come out and they were also becoming quasi banks by getting into fintech to do predatory peer-to-peer loans.
Chung describes how these predatory peer-to-peer loans work which also requires a social credit score punishment and rewards system. However, China’s government under Xi intervened and said they were not allowed to do that. Its also when Jack Ma “disappeared” for awhile and Chung says that he likely knew ahead of time that Ant Financial was going to be shut down (or require a 30% reserve) which is why he publicly started taking swipes at the government.
Chung says with China, its easy to create psyops because most people have no idea “what China even looks like right now” (e.g. the modern cities). China also does not publicly talk about its internal economic debates; but there is plenty of internal debate (e.g. plenty of free marketers in high positions, etc).
Alexander Mercouris discussed how the Chinese political class and legal system places tremendous emphasis on stability (e.g. how companies treat employees and interact with each other, etc.) and that China is actually pretty decentralized economically (compared to the West) as you have lots of people doing lots of things in lots of places.
Chung mentioned the book, “How China Escaped Shock Therapy.” Ultimately, China decided that having short term pain in the hope of long term gain (with no certainty) was not worth it. She explained that Chinese thinking is the opposite of how westerners think of them e.g. ant/drone like, etc. Instead, they believe its not just theory and they prefer to do an experiment (e.g. on a small town) with a way of doing something before trying it system wide. In other words, they don’t do economic shock therapy. Instead they have a sort of Jinga tower where you remove things, see the instability, get feedback, and slowly create a new system.
Mercouris noted how westerners think the Chinese government has an omnipresent presence when in fact it plays a much smaller role in people’s lives. Chung, then noted how Peter Theil says we are “past competition” and how in the USA, you can buy up and destroy your competition. While many people have heard of DeepSeek, there are now over eight top Chinese AI providers (not counting smaller ones) eating each other through innovation.
Chung added that people in China don’t feel the government is on top of them and that the government also takes polls and surveys seriously. In contrast, the West has a day of voting and then its over with for four years.
China also has a greater field of freedom, but within defined boundaries e.g. no predatory lending in fintech/banking that attack the vulnerable. Meanwhile, in the West, you can get a predatory loan for your Doordash (and its perfectly legal or within regulatory bounds).
Mercouris asked, based on Chinese history, whether China is more resistant to extractive capitalism than in the West. Chung commented that most Chinese don’t even identify as Communist (even though there is a “Communist” party). Instead, they are Confucian or Confucianist while the government is drawing on lessons going back to the first dynasty.
Mercouris suggested that real discussion about China makes people and especially elites in the West uncomfortable (especially with Confucian philosophy IF read correctly) as it suggests an alternative system. Chung says the Chinese are willing to listen to different perspectives whereas that’s not happened in the West in over a century. Ironically, its the West that’s closing itself off to the world and there is no healthy debate allowed in, for example, academia (who are supposed to be having such discussions).
When asked if China is out to dominate or is a threat, Chung answered by saying people should look into what Goldman Sachs, which is closely tied into Blackrock, is doing in terms of buying up infrastructure to counter the Belt-and-Road initiative. Plus the US government has been going around bombing countries and creating refugee crises all over the world.
I thought her perspective was refreshing compared to what you hear from the (obnoxious) China shrills on Twitter along with all the China haters. Chung’s Substack:
Her posts though are fairly lengthy e.g.:
In light of the above conversation, the graphic with this recent tweet is interesting:
ɖʀʊӄքǟ ӄʊռʟɛʏ 🇧🇹🇹🇩@kunley_drukpa
The political compass of every major political faction in China today
2:02 AM · Jul 26, 2026 · 410K Views
56 Replies · 207 Reposts · 3.26K Likes
The Duran also had this recent discussion which I won’t summarize; but its also thought provoking and worth listening to (although both Alexanders don’t necessarily agree on all aspects of Perkins’ thesis):
🎥 Secret Plan to Destroy BRICS and Crash China w/ Ryan Perkins (The Duran) 58:06 Minutes (September 2026)
Is the crisis in Iran actually a financial weapon aimed at China? Alex and Alexander sit down with geopolitics analyst Ryan Perkins [On X: https://x.com/ChinaIndicator] to unpack how Scott Bessent’s energy and fertilizer shock strategy may be designed to trigger a currency crisis and industrial recession inside China, fracture BRICS, and warn the Global South away from de dollarization. From the Strait of Hormuz to a possible new Plaza Accord, could this be the most consequential economic trap of the decade?
00:00:00 Introduction, Ryan Perkins joins from Beijing
00:02:35 Researching the Iran war strategy since March
00:05:11 Was closing the Strait of Hormuz the real goal
00:07:42 The pro Yuan hypothesis explained
00:09:12 Scott Bessent and his history of market manipulation
00:10:18 Oil price predictions toward 150 dollars a barrel
00:11:39 The three targets, China, BRICS and the Global South
00:12:32 India’s triple exposure to the crisis
00:14:11 China’s industrial value added vulnerability
00:18:15 The offshore Yuan and dollar system asymmetry
00:24:29 The trap, engineering a Chinese industrial recession
00:26:23 How China has been preparing for years
00:31:37 Reassessing the tariff war as a pressure test
00:35:46 Bessent and Soros, a pattern of currency attacks
00:37:34 The real goal, a new Plaza Accord with China
00:41:26 India and Brazil pivoting back toward the US
00:43:02 Why the BRICS payment system stalled
00:48:04 Impressions from the Vladivostok forum
00:51:55 Power of Siberia 2 and the Mongolia route dispute
00:54:53 Why Chinese taxi drivers say it’s all about China
If I am not mistaken, the point was made in this podcast that when Russia chaired BRICs, things were moving fast; but when Brazil and then India took over, things stalled because the USA threatened sanctions directed personally at the officials involved (Russian officials could care less if the West takes away visas and freezes bank accounts they probably don’t even have anymore)…
I found this take to be interesting about how AI is going to eventually hurt East Asia due to the East Asian education system:
Zilan Qian@ZilanQian
Interesting perspective on how China will lose its advantage in education because of AI, from a Tsinghua professor a while ago that was reshared by a Chinese journal on tech policy today:
“In my view, the biggest problem with Chinese education is that, from our understanding of…
2:28 PM · Aug 20, 2026 · 35.7K Views
9 Replies · 17 Reposts · 235 Likes
Side note: Have you ever met someone who you assume must be really smart because they went to elite schools (and not because they were legacy or because of DEI/affirmative action) on excellent grades (and not because of grade inflation) and work for prestigious institutions; but within minutes of talking to them, you realize they are very stupid (e.g. have zero common sense, they mouth slogans/buzzwords, etc.) and you wonder how they got to where they are???
Then you figure out they must just be good at remembering what their teachers/professors/bosses/approved of media, etc. had told them and are good at repeating it as answers when necessary (like on standardized tests or essays) without any real critical or original thinking. That’s basically Western education these days and AI can also do that as well as help the rest of us do that…
I think I wrote about this before but in the early 2000s, I did an MBA in Australia (FX arbitrage due to the strong USD and weak AUD) and the (White) Aussie professors complained rather bitterly about the blatant cheating by the (mostly non-PRC as there were very few PRC students studying abroad at the time but mostly ethnically Chinese) Asian students from SE Asia. And there was nothing the professors could do about it as this was before programs like Copyscape to make catching cheaters (or proving cheating) more easy and even if they caught them red-handed, the university needed full tuition paying foreign students.
I can only imagine the situation now with AI at all universities involving all (and not just Asian study-abroad) students. But this means nobody is learning how to think or do much of anything – not in Asia and not in the West…
I also remember points being made years ago about China stealing, let’s say software they did not design or build themselves, and then needing to steal any updates to keep it functioning (as if you did not design or build it, you will have a hard time maintaining and updating it to keep it functioning) and then not being able to use it abroad or for exports (because it was stolen).
An example of this: We did a short piece some years ago about Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) (SHA: 688981 / HKG: 0981 / FRA: MKN2), one of the leading foundries in the world and considered to be China’s most important chipmaker, who’s origins lay with stolen Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) technology that led to a several year court battle ultimately won by the latter while hamstringing the former’s ability to come up with it’s own technology.
Stocks covered by a couple of equity research providers and other sources in this post:
[Note: On desktop browsers, an autogenerated table of contents will appear on the left side linked to each stock. I will add those links below after publishing/emailing this post…]
🇨🇳 China – August – SANY Heavy Industry, China Life Insurance, Zhejiang Laifual Drive Co Ltd, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co Ltd, BYD Company, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Group), Akeso, Meituan, Weichai Power, Lingyi iTech (Guangdong) Co, Rokae (Shandong) Robotics Group Inc, OneRobotics, Baozun, Micro-Tech, Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Company, CR Beverage, Bilibili, Shanghai Longcheer Technology Co Ltd, Shenzhen Dobot Corp Ltd, SenseTime, China MeiDong Auto Holdings, Green Tea Group, Innovent Biologics, Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd, Li Auto, MiniMax Group, Sany Heavy Equipment International Holdings, WuXi Biologics, Nongfu Spring, Deepexi Technology, Maxscend Microelectronics Co, Beijing Haizhi Tech Group Co Ltd, Proya Cosmetics, Jacobio Pharmaceuticals Group Co Ltd, ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co, Naura Technology, Great Wall Motor, Kanzhun Limited, Shenzhen Ldrobot Co Ltd, Gpixel Changchun Microelectronics Inc, Tongcheng Travel, WuXi XDC, Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic, Ping An Insurance, PDD Holdings, OmniVision Integrated Circuits Group (Will Semiconductor), Xpeng Inc, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, Greentown Service, China Hongqiao, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Ke Holdings, ZTE, Pharmaron Beijing, Shandong Hongqiao Aluminum Industry Holding, NetEase Cloud Music, Tuhu Car, Binjiang Service, 3SBio, CSPC Pharmaceutical, Futu Holdings, United Imaging, Alibaba, NetEase, Xiaomi Corp, Geely Automobile, Baidu Inc, Lenovo Group, Xunfei Healthcare Technology, Guoquan Food, Kuaishou Technology, Giant Biogene, Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd, Hesai Group, iQIYI, Chuangxin Industries, China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd, Shengyi Tech, EVA Precision Industrial Holdings, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Z.AI Co Ltd, Hua Hong Semiconductor, JD.com, Tencent, Dmall Inc, China Tower, Kingdee International Software Group, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, BeOne Medicines, CGN Mining & WuXi AppTec
July – New Oriental Education, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Jiangsu Zenergy Battery Technologies Group, Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co Ltd, Yancoal Australia, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec), Horizon Robotics, Aoxin Q & M Dental Group Ltd, Trip.com, Waterdrop & China Sunsine Chemical Holdings
June – Precision Tsugami China Corporation Ltd, Zixin Group Holdings Ltd, Shanghai FourSemi Semiconductor Co Ltd, Bank of China, Fujian Haixi Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd & PATEO CONNECT Technology (Shanghai) Corp
[Note: Access to some DBS Insights Direct pieces might be restricted depending on your location or browser.]
CK Asset Holdings, Henderson Land, Hysan Development, AIA Group Ltd, Cathay Pacific Airways, Swire Properties, Fortune REIT, Hang Lung Properties, Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land, DFI Retail Group, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd & Link REIT
CMB International Capital Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank (SHA: 600036 / HKG: 3968 / OTCMKTS: CIHKY / OTCMKTS: CIHHF), has a monthly list of 20+ high conviction stock ideas – namely Chinese stock picks (see our 2023 – May, June, July, August, September, October, November & December; 2024 – January-February, March, April, May, June, July-August, September, October, November & December; 2025 – January, February, March, April, May, June, July-August, September, October & November-December; 2026 – January-February, March & April-May posts summarizing those) BUT these lists do not change too much from month to month. Stocks covered by the CMBI Research Focus List (August) (including June/July/August Additions & June/July/August Deletions) and included in this post with updated stats and charts include:
Geely Automobile, Horizon Robotics, Jiangsu Zenergy Battery Technologies Group, J&T Global Express, Weichai Power, Chuangxin Industries, Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic, CGN Mining, Bosideng International Holdings, Guoquan Food, Luckin Coffee, CR Beverage, WuXi AppTec, 3SBio, Ping An Insurance, China Life Insurance, AIA Group Ltd, Tencent, NetEase, Meituan, Alibaba, Trip.com, CR MixC Lifestyle, Greentown Service, Aac Technologies Holdings, Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT Hon Teng), Lumentum Holdings Inc, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Naura Technology, InnoScience (Suzhou) Technology Holding Co, Futu Holdings, Zhongji Innolight, Microsoft & Datadog
DeepSeek can be tricky to use on anything about China – readers can decide whether these insights or summary about these (mostly the Chinese) stocks are accurate (Note: Like other AIs, DeepSeek tends to run out of steam or get tired after so many pages…):
Summary of Key Metrics for Quick Reference
And as always, this post is provided for informational purposes only (and to make your life easier…). It does not constitute investment advice and/or a recommendation…
🔬 Research analysis (including articles/blog posts from fund managers, etc.); 🎥 Video; 🎙️ Podcast; 🎬 Webinar; 📰 Newspaper/magazine article; 📯 Press release; 💻 Substack/blog/website article; ✅ Our own posts; 🗃️ Archived article; ⏰ Upcoming webinar or event; ⚠️ Disclosures or restricted access e.g. based on your location, investor status, etc.; 🇼 Wikipedia page; 🏷️ Tagged links to other posts about the stock.
🔬 SANY Heavy (600031 CH/6031 HK) – 2Q26 net profit +17% YoY after FX impact (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
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🌐 Sany Heavy Industry (SHA: 600031 / HKG: 6031 / FRA: 1741) 🇨🇳 – China’s largest & the world’s third-largest engineering machinery manufacturer. 4 series & 6 categories of mining machine products. 🇼 🏷️
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Price/Book (Current): 1.55
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Forward P/E: 15.70 / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 1.14% (Yahoo! Finance)
🔬 China Life (2628 HK) – Strong underwriting and investment gains drive interim DPS beat; Raise TP to HK$39 (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
🔬 Laifual Drive (3952 HK) – On track for profitability, volume leadership (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
🔬 Laifual Drive (3952 HK) – A cost-driven disruptor in harmonic reducer market to ride humanoid robotics wave (CMB International) 08-12 2026 ⚠️
🔬 Mindray (300760 CH) – 1H26 in line; overseas momentum and domestic recovery intact (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
🔬 BYD (1211 HK/002594 CH) – 2Q26 earnings signal enhanced cost discipline (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
🔬 GAC Group (2238 HK/601238 CH) – Exports, customer mix to drive margin recovery (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
🔬 Akeso (9926 HK) – Eyes on Harmoni-3 readout in 2H26 (CMB International) 08-31 2026 ⚠️
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🌐 Akeso (HKG: 9926 / FRA: 4RY / OTCMKTS: AKESF) 🇰🇾 – Biopharmaceutical company. R&D, manufacturing & commercialization of new innovative antibody drugs. 🏷️
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Price/Book (Current): 8.43
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Forward P/E: 54.64 / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
