Company Interview / Why Billy's backing this DRAGON

Key points:

Chinese AI and semiconductor names are, in Leung’s view, under‑recognised versus Western peers Open‑source Chinese AI models are driving rapid monetisation in industrial applications Looser rules are accelerating China’s EV and autonomous vehicle rollout, supporting the broader AI value chain

Billy Leung from Global X ETFs argues that global investors are underestimating China’s fast‑developing AI ecosystem. Leung points to year‑to‑date strength in semiconductor and AI thematics, noting that attention remains concentrated on the US, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, while a cohort of Chinese AI companies has, in Leung’s view, quietly outperformed Western peers over the past three months across AI development, infrastructure and chips.

Leung highlights China’s policy push to use innovation and automation to address an ageing population, with incentives, rebates and redirected investment aimed at AI, robotics and productivity‑enhancing technologies. Chinese groups such as Singularity and Minimax are cited as examples of firms producing large language models that Leung considers competitive with Western names like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI. Because many Chinese models are open source, Leung sees the real opportunity in downstream commercial applications already scaling in logistics, warehousing, infrastructure and robotics.

In autonomous driving and EVs, Leung states that looser regulation and higher perceived safety standards are now enabling mass adoption, benefiting sensors, cameras and on‑board chips. To access this theme, Leung points to the Global X China Tech ETF (ASX:DRAGON), which targets companies involved in China’s AI, semiconductor, robotics and EV supply chains.