Given China's booming economy, the question investors ask is how to be involved without risking unacceptable losses. As the economy continues to grow and attract attention from foreign investors, new options are beginning to emerge.

"You really have to do your homework," Ron Otsuki, managing director of Asian investments at Manulife Financial in Hong Kong, told The Globe and Mail.

"The returns can be huge, but the risks are similarly huge."

Stock market shares resemble a veritable alphabet soup. They range from "A," "B," and "C" to signify types of shares traded on the Shanghai and Shenzen exchanges to "H," "N," "L," and "ADR" to denote shares traded on the Hong Kong, New York, and London exchanges and under the American Depository Receipt agreement.

Traditionally, A shares are held only by residents of China and are traded in yuan (or renminbi), the local currency. B shares are denominated in yuan but payable in foreign currency and are designated for foreign investors. C shares are wholly owned by state-owned enterprises and are not publicly traded.

In June 2003, China for the first time approved a handful of qualified foreign institutional investors, or QFIIs, to invest in A shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

To qualify for A shares, a financial institution must have US $10 billion in assets under management in its past fiscal year. Fund management companies must have had at least five years of operational experience, while insurance companies and brokerages are required to have a minimum of 30 years experience and paid-in capital of at least US $1 billion.

To keep a rein on hot money escaping China and prompting a financial crisis, the QFII scheme also requires funds to be held onshore for at least one year before being repatriated.

Among the H shares – those floated or listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – the highest rated are known as "red chips" and they come in two varieties: mainland Chinese companies with Hong Kong subsidiaries and Hong Kong companies that do the bulk of their business with mainland China.

For most investors, the best way to play China is through a mutual fund. The number of offerings is growing as investor demand for China-related products increases.

China commands 9th position in market capitalization. That the Chinese markets are only 10 years old whereas the other stock markets in the top 10 are over 100 years old means that the Chinese markets have much more room for growth and can learn from the mistakes others have made in the past.

United States Exchange China IndexSM

The newly created USX China IndexSM is comprised of companies that trade on U.S. exchanges and conduct business in China or benefit from the economic growth in China.

Below is a list of the companies that comprise the USX China IndexSM with links to the English version of their websites where available. You may also wish to visit the official site for the USX China IndexSM.