China’s First 18 Active ETFs Launch on Shanghai and Shenzhen Exchanges

The debut of active ETFs in China marks a structural shift in a market long dominated by passive, index-tracking products, giving domestic managers a vehicle to charge for stock selection within an exchange-traded wrapper. The simultaneous listing across both Shanghai and Shenzhen signals a coordinated regulatory push rather than a single-venue experiment, which matters for how quickly distribution and liquidity norms form. Whether these products attract meaningful flows, and whether active management can justify its fee premium over passive alternatives in this market, is the open question worth watching.