Bridgewater exited $1.5 billion in Chinese stocks, selling Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com

Bridgewater in the second quarter carried out a major portfolio restructuring, completely abandoning securities of Chinese companies such as Baidu, Alibaba and JD.com, and strengthening positions in Microsoft and Nvidia. The deals coincided with a turbulent period in global markets due to the U.S.-China trade war.

Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund, fully exited its U.S. depositary shares of a number of Chinese companies in the second quarter, according to a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The sale included search engine and artificial intelligence technology developer Baidu, e-commerce platform Alibaba, online retailer JD.com, marketplace owner Pinduoduo and Temu PDD Holdings, premium electric car maker Nio, online travel booking service Trip.com Group and Yum China, an operator of restaurant chains KFC, Pizza Hut and other brands in China. Fintech company Qifu Technology and online real estate platform Ke Holdings were also dropped from the fund's portfolio. The total value of the reduced positions in Chinese securities is estimated at about $1.5 billion, MarketWatch notes.

Bridgewater Associates also cut its stake in Apple by 60%, but increased its investments in Microsoft and Nvidia by more than 100%.

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has for many years been an advocate of investment in China and has even been criticized, including by U.S. politicians, for his optimistic stance on China, CNBC reports. Last April, he pointed to Beijing's conflict with the U.S. and low prices for key assets as the main problems facing the Chinese economy, but noted that these difficulties "can be solved by Chinese leaders if they do their job well."

In April this year, Dalio openly criticized the trade wars launched by US President Donald Trump's administration and called for a rebalancing of US-China relations, noting that trade imbalances have undermined US manufacturing. He also suggested the two sides strike a deal to "achieve a significant reduction in these imbalances."

As of early August, Dalio had sold his remaining stake in Bridgewater and resigned from the board, but continues to mentor the fund's investment team.

Bridgewater's performance has been below the market average in recent years, MarketWatch notes. Pure Alpha's flagship fund, Pure Alpha, yielded just 5.9% over the five-year period ending December 2024, though the latest data shows it had a successful first half of this year.

Pure Alpha posted a 17 - percent return for the first six months of 2025. Another important fund, All Weather, showed a return of 8 percent over the same period. These results came during a turbulent period for the markets amid concerns over US trade policy. However, on Monday, August 11, a 90-day trade truce was announced between Washington and Beijing. Without that pause, US tariffs on Chinese goods were to rise to 145% and Chinese duties to 125%. Currently, the tariff rate on imports from China to the U.S. is 30%, and exports from the U.S. to China are subject to a 10% tariff.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor