China’s exchange-traded fund assets jumped 63.4% to a record 5.85 trillion RMB (US$844.8 billion) last year, with bond funds attracting more capital flows than equity funds for the first time ever, according to Morningstar Inc.
The 1,380 locally domiciled ETFs drew 1.38 trillion RMB of net inflows, the second-highest annual figure after a record 1.43 trillion RMB in 2024, Morningstar says in a report on March 3.
Inflows into fixed income ETFs increased almost 11-fold to 632.4 billion RMB while flows into equity funds shrank 110% to 619.5 billion RMB.
Investor demand for exposure to gold drove a record 115.7 billion RMB of capital into commodity ETFs.
“China’s ETF market sustained its explosive growth momentum in 2025,” says Wanda Wang, an analyst at Morningstar, noting that record assets and the highest ever new fund launches helped China overtake Japan as the biggest ETF market in Asia last year.
