It is not news that you don't get anything back. There is a documentary (forgot the name, but should be googleble) about how China created loads of fake compani

It is not news that you don't get anything back. There is a documentary (forgot the name, but should be googleble) about how China created loads of fake companies to get money from naive investors. The problem with this whole situation since day one was: How can you be sure that you're not cheated if it's in the other side sovereign's interest when you get cheated. So yes, there was probably never a point where you could have invested reasonably into Chinese bonds or stocks or startups.