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Zhang Shidong

Themis Qi

Chinese stock investors have found a new favourite that could possibly take over the artificial intelligence trade, scooping up so-called rocket shares on bets that commercial aerospace will become the next battleground in the rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
A gauge of commercial aerospace companies trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges has risen about 10 per cent this year, adding to a 76 per cent increase in 2025, according to data from financial services provider Shanghai DZH.
The gauge’s year-to-date return has outpaced the 2 per cent gain in the benchmark CSI 300 Index. Some of the big gainers include China Spacesat and Hunan Aerospace Huanyu Communication Technology.
“With policy support, the cost of rocket launches in China is expected to come down and even match that of SpaceX,” said Hou Bin, an analyst at Great Wall Securities. “We are positive on an acceleration of domestic substitution in commercial aerospace going forward. That will create investment opportunities in a number of downstream industries.”

Fuelling the enthusiasm is investors’ belief that China will go all out to catch up with the US, where Elon Musk’s SpaceX is taking the lead in reusable rocket technology and lunar ambitions. China has made aerospace one of its main priorities in the latest five-year development plan, undertaking a series of tests for reusable rockets to show its determination that the country will not be left behind in the race for cutting-edge technologies.
The investment frenzy has been further ignited by the fast-track initial public offering review of LandSpace, which is seen as one of China’s leading challengers to SpaceX in reusable rocket technology.
The stand-out performance of rocket shares is significant for China’s stock market, as investors scramble for market-leading opportunities to maintain momentum after the AI frenzy shows signs of faltering.
Technology stocks have been trading sideways over the past few weeks, with unease growing about whether massive investments in AI infrastructure will generate cash flows and whether new AI tools will disrupt the business models of some established industries like software.
For now, the bet on rocket shares is likely to hold as the play is buttressed by huge interest and inflows from individual investors, whose combined holdings account for about a third of the publicly available shares.
Daisy Wu, a retail investor, believes that since aerospace matters for national security, China has to continue to invest more resources in the competition against the US. She put her money where her mouth is by investing about 3,000 yuan (US$435), the amount she earned from her internship, in an aerospace-focused fund. The investment represented two months’ worth of living expenses for Wu.
“I consider it support for our country’s development,” said the 21-year-old student in Shanghai, adding that she would hold her investment until the commercial aerospace industry started booming.
A Beijing-based individual investor, who did not want to be identified, made a similar bet, ploughing 1 million yuan into an aerospace-focused equity fund, with plans to hold it for at least a year.
“China’s commercial aerospace industry can’t be defeated by Elon Musk,” she said, adding that her investment would be supported by the nation’s manufacturing capability and policy support.
Investors will be heartened to know that China successfully conducted a safety test for rocket launches last week, a crucial step in the nation’s preparations for a manned mission to the moon. That came after two failed rocket launches on January 17, with some calling it a “black Saturday” in China’s aerospace history.
Competition between China and the US in aerospace has been heating up. While the US plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2028 – the first time since Nasa’s last Apollo mission in 1972 – China aims to do the same by 2030. The two nations are also racing to set up permanent settlements on the moon in the next decade, with SpaceX leading the charge.
Last year, the US conducted 180 orbital launches, followed by China’s 93, according to Gunter’s Space Page, a comprehensive online database dedicated to space missions, satellites and rockets. China applied to the International Telecommunication Union to put 203,000 satellites into space in the final week of 2025, marking the country’s largest-ever application to date.
Despite the favourable backdrop, volatility in aerospace stocks was increasing as some investors were booking profits after the recent gains, prompting 14 listed companies to warn simultaneously of investment risks on January 12.
The short-term swings may offer investors a chance to rebuild their positions, according to Zhongtai Securities.
“The gyrations are more of a reflection of sentiment disruption rather than a change in the industry trend,” said Chen Dingru, an analyst at the brokerage. “In the next two years, global commercial aerospace will enter a period of explosive growth.”


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Investors scramble for opportunities to maintain market momentum after the AI frenzy shows signs of losing steam


Investors scramble for opportunities to maintain market momentum after the AI frenzy shows signs of losing steam.


From AI to aerospace: China meme rocket shares take off in race with US

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Investors scramble for opportunities to maintain market momentum after the AI frenzy shows signs of losing steam

Investors scramble for opportunities to maintain market momentum after the AI frenzy shows signs of losing steam