Who Said China Was Uninvestable? These 4 ASX Stocks Exposed to China Proved Otherwise!

For years post-pandemic (and arguably a couple of years before), “China exposure” has been treated as a four‑letter word by Australian investors.

The trade war, COVID lockdowns, property‑market weakness and rising geopolitical tensions all fed a narrative that Australia’s corporate links to China were broken. Investors rewarded companies for reducing exposure and punished those that didn’t. In some corners of the market, China was treated as uninvestable.

Yet beneath the noise, several ASX‑listed companies quietly kept growing.
What makes these companies interesting is not that they survived. It’s that they continued to expand revenue, deepen their presence in China and, in most cases, become materially larger than they were before the pandemic.

Here are 4 such ASX stocks.

4 ASX stocks still making money from China

1. A2 Milk (ASX:A2M)

Few companies better capture the market’s shifting view of China than A2 Milk.
Before COVID, A2 Milk was one of the ASX’s premier growth stocks. Chinese demand for premium infant formula drove extraordinary revenue growth and investors priced the company accordingly.

Then the daigou channel collapsed and the informal suitcase‑trading network that had underpinned A2’s China strategy evaporated almost overnight. Many investors concluded the China story was finished.

But while the market obsessed over what had gone wrong, management rebuilt the business. A2 Milk strengthened its direct relationships with Chinese retailers, distributors and e‑commerce platforms. It invested heavily in brand, compliance and supply‑chain resilience. It built a business designed to operate in a regulated market rather than around it.

The results? Group revenue is NZ$1.90bn, with NZ$1.30bn coming from China and Other Asian markets. That is roughly 68% of its total revenue and revenue is well above pre‑COVID levels.

2. Fortescue (ASX:FMG)

Fortescue is arguably Australia’s biggest China success story and it sells into the foundations of modern China itself. The iron ore giant generates the overwhelming majority of its revenue from Chinese customers. China accounts for US$14.5bn of Fortescue’s US$15–16bn run‑rate revenue. That is 88–90% of group revenue. For all the talk of decoupling, that number has barely moved.

China remains the world’s largest steel producer. It remains the dominant consumer of seaborne iron ore. And Fortescue remains one of its most important suppliers.
What makes this remarkable is the scale of Fortescue’s growth. Fortescue’s Revenue today is more than double pre‑pandemic levels and it has paid dividends that at times has made its yield nearly double digits. Although its profit has fluctuated with iron ore prices, Fortescue has become one of the ASX’s most significant wealth creators.

Yes, there are concerns about China’s property sector and long‑term steel demand – these issues cannot be neglected. But investors often underestimate the sheer scale of China’s industrial base. Even with slower GDP growth, China remains an enormous consumer of raw materials. Slower GDP growth is 4-5%, not 1-2% as you’d think would be the case as in Western economies like Australia.

3. ALS (ASX:ALQ)

Unlike A2 Milk or Fortescue, ALS rarely appears in conversations about China exposure, but that may be precisely why it deserves attention.

ALS operates a global network of laboratory testing and inspection services across mining, environmental, industrial and food sectors. China is a meaningful part of that footprint, even if the company does not disclose exact revenue figures.
Most investors associate ALS with global mining activity. But the company’s revenue base is far broader. Whenever a mine needs testing, a manufacturer needs quality assurance or environmental monitoring is required, ALS can earn revenue.

China remains one of the world’s largest industrial economies. ALS continues to participate in that activity every day. The company now generates roughly A$3bn in annual revenue, and that figure is larger than it was pre‑COVID. Moreover, it has done this without relying on Chinese consumer spending or a single commodity.
ALS sells expertise, compliance and technical capability. Those services remain in demand regardless of economic cycles. That is why ALS has quietly expanded its footprint and delivered consistent earnings growth.

4. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX:FPH)

If China’s past was defined by industrialisation, its next chapter will be shaped by healthcare. An ageing population, rising incomes and growing healthcare expenditure are creating long‑term structural demand across the sector. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is positioned squarely in the middle of that trend.

FPH has built a global reputation in respiratory care, hospital consumables and sleep‑treatment products. While North America remains its largest market, China has become an increasingly important growth engine.
Healthcare demand is less cyclical than consumer demand. People may delay discretionary purchases during economic downturns, but hospitals still require equipment, consumables and respiratory support products. That dynamic has allowed Fisher & Paykel to steadily expand its presence in the Chinese market.

The company now generates more than NZ$2bn in annual revenue, again substantially larger than it was pre‑COVID. And it’d be fair to assume that China is a meaningful contributor, even if the company does not disclose exact figures. For investors seeking China exposure without relying on commodities or consumer sentiment, Fisher & Paykel offers a compelling alternative.

The broader lesson

These four companies operate in very different industries, yet they reveal that China exposure has not disappeared at all. It is fair to say the market has evolved and these companies have had to…after all the Chinese economy is more regulated, more competitive and more mature market than a decade ago. For instance,  A2 Milk rebuilt its entire operating model to suit a post‑daigou world.

The broader point for investors is that China exposure is not inherently good or bad. It is simply a strategic choice that rewards discipline and punishes complacency. The companies that failed (whether they never got a foot in the road or got one but eventually failed) tended to rely on shortcuts, grey‑market channels or outdated assumptions about consumer behaviour. The companies that succeeded invested in relationships, regulatory alignment and long‑term positioning.

Beijing remains one of the world’s largest consumer markets, one of the largest industrial economies and one of the largest healthcare systems. It is more complex than it once was, but complexity is not the same as decline. For companies with strong products, clear competitive advantages and well‑executed strategies, it remains a market of enormous scale and potential.