Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary says it ‘makes no sense whatsoever’ to avoid Chinese stocks and investors shouldn’t ignore the world’s fastest growing economy

• Investors shouldn’t avoid Chinese stocks, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary said.
• “To have no allocation in the Chinese market makes no sense whatsoever,” he told CNBC.
• O’Leary added that he owns Chinese stocks himself, including e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Passing up on Chinese stocks “makes no sense whatsoever” as the country remains one of the world’s fastest growing economies, according to Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary.

“If you’re looking for long-term secular growth, there’s no question the Chinese economy, over the next 20 to 25 years, is going to become the largest economy on earth. There’s no stopping them, no denying it,” O’Leary said in a phone interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

He added that he owns Chinese stocks himself, including e-commerce giant Alibaba. By contrast, SoftBank, Naspers, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway recently trimmed their shares in popular Chinese stocks like BYD, Alibaba, and Tencent.

That’s largely due to China’s tech crackdown, the ongoing trade war with the US, and new COVID-related lockdowns, which have cut into its economic growth. Industry output and retail sales fell below expectations in July, and the International Monetary Fund slashed its 2022 growth expectations for China’s economy to 3.3%, from 4.4% earlier this year.

But O’Leary was bullish on a rebound for the nation, which is currently the world’s second-largest economy, and predicted its trade tensions with the US may not be permanent.

“Frankly, these economies need each other. So to have no allocation in the Chinese market makes no sense whatsoever. Again, you’ve got to stomach volatility,” he said.