By Suzanne Downing 
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, which manages the state’s $86.6 billion sovereign wealth fund, maintains a small but notable investment footprint in China. Though often perceived as a passive investor, the corporation’s global reach means even modest allocations can translate into hundreds of millions of dollars abroad.
According to the APFC’s most recent quarterly disclosures, roughly 1.8% of the fund’s assets, or about $1.4 billion, are tied to “Greater China,” including Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Most of this exposure comes through public equities and exchange-traded funds, not direct stakes. The holdings include major Chinese technology and e-commerce companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Pinduoduo, with smaller positions in Baidu, JD.com, and NetEase. Additional exposure arises indirectly through broad emerging-market index funds like the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF, which allocates nearly one-third of its portfolio to Chinese equities.
Bond exposure remains minimal – under $50 million. It’s focused on investment-grade corporate and sovereign debt. The corporation reports little to no real estate or private-equity investment in mainland China, reflecting a cautious posture amid regulatory and geopolitical uncertainty.
The board and management review China-related exposure quarterly. After Beijing’s 2021-2022 crackdown on technology companies, APFC trimmed positions and set informal limits on emerging-market allocations, capping them at about 10-15% of the total fund. Officials say the diversification is designed to reduce volatility while seeking long-term returns near 6 to 7 percent.
China’s slowing growth and US policy tensions have weighed on returns. The APFC’s Chinese holdings are down roughly 10 to 15% year-to-date in 2025, though fund managers frame these as cyclical losses in an otherwise long-term global strategy. The corporation also follows US sanctions (and environmental, social, and governance restrictions, excluding firms linked to surveillance or human-rights abuses since a 2023 board resolution.)
Compared with other sovereign funds, Alaska’s exposure is modest. It is less than Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, which holds about 3% in Chinese assets, but more than many US state pension funds that have moved to reduce their China stakes entirely.
For Alaskans, the connection is more than academic: Earnings from these global investments, including those in China, contribute to the Permanent Fund dividend – $1,000 per resident in 2025 – illustrating how international markets quietly contribute to one of the state’s most visible benefits.