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Themis Qi

Ultra-wealthy families in Europe, the Middle East and Africa view China as their most favoured market for future investments, as concerns over tensions between Beijing and Washington ease, according to a survey by Citigroup.
The latest edition of the Global Family Office Report, published on Tuesday, analysed the investment plans of 351 family offices – private companies set up to manage the assets of ultra-wealthy families – from more than 40 countries around the world.
In the survey, 29 per cent of respondents from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said they planned to increase their exposure to the Chinese market, the highest figure for any geographic region.
The next most popular investment destinations among that group were the rest of the Asia-Pacific market, with 26 per cent, and North America on 25 per cent.
The findings coincided with a significant easing of concerns over US-China tensions. Only 22 per cent of family offices surveyed viewed US-China tensions as a top concern this year, compared with 43 per cent in 2025.
The results suggested that EMEA family offices were seeking to diversify their portfolios, and China was a popular choice as it had less political uncertainty compared with other regions, said Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank.
“China can be a hedge to US dollar-denominated assets with opportunities in the tech sectors,” said Ng, while cautioning that valuation and exit strategies remained an issue in China due to frequent regulatory changes and limited liquidity.


While stocks traded in Hong Kong and mainland China have underperformed those in other markets this year, China’s trade with the European Union and Africa has continued to grow strongly, rising 12.4 per cent and 23.3 per cent year on year, respectively, in the first eight months of 2026, Chinese customs data showed.
China was also a popular investment destination with family offices in Asia-Pacific, the survey found, with 27 per cent of respondents from the region saying they planned to increase their exposure to the Chinese market.
Globally, China was the fourth most favoured market among family offices, with 19 per cent of respondents intending to deploy new capital in the region. North America, the rest of Asia-Pacific and Europe were the top three choices, selected by 39 per cent, 29 per cent and 20 per cent of respondents, respectively.
But China was the third pick among family offices with more than US$500 million of assets under management, according to the report, behind only North America and Asia-Pacific excluding China.
This year, inflation and interest rates have replaced trade disputes and US-China tensions as the top concerns among family offices, with 63 per cent of respondents saying they were worried about inflation. Meanwhile, 38 per cent said they were concerned about the stability of the global financial system.
Asia’s ultra-wealthy families are particularly interested in artificial intelligence, with more than 80 per cent of Asia-Pacific respondents saying they intended to invest in the sector – far higher than the global average of 51 per cent.
Healthcare was also popular with Asia-Pacific family offices, on 43 per cent, while traditional sectors including automotive, finance and real estate were at the bottom of the list in the region.
Asia-Pacific investors were the most ambitious in terms of their target gains this year, with 22 per cent of respondents in the region eyeing annualised returns of 15 per cent or above – compared with a global average of 11 per cent.
Citi attributed the higher returns target partly to the large number of relatively young wealth creators in the region who aspired to be serial entrepreneurs.
“Family offices globally are balancing conviction with resilience, opportunity with discipline, and growth with stewardship,” said Dawn Nordberg, head of integrated client solutions and the global family office group at Citi Wealth, in a statement.


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European, Middle Eastern and African family offices are increasing their exposure to China as they diversify their portfolios, report finds


European, Middle Eastern and African family offices are increasing their exposure to China as they diversify their portfolios, report finds.


Some family offices eyeing Chinese investments as US-China tensions ease: report

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}European, Middle Eastern and African family offices are increasing their exposure to China as they diversify their portfolios, report finds

European, Middle Eastern and African family offices are increasing their exposure to China as they diversify their portfolios, report finds