On September 8th, global asset management giant BlackRock hosted its "2026 BlackRock Investment Strategy Theme Conference" in Beijing, centered on the theme "Navigating New Horizons: Investment Paradigms in an Era of Disruption." The firm's core investment leaders shared the stage, delivering key signals on critical topics including the AI bubble debate, U.S. Treasury risks, retirement investing, and opportunities in fixed income.

"The global economy and financial markets are experiencing profound structural changes. Artificial intelligence is accelerating the reshaping of industrial landscapes, the energy transition is generating new capital demands, demographic shifts are driving the development of retirement finance, and geopolitical fragmentation continues to influence global capital flows. Concurrently, the low-interest-rate environment is prompting investors to reassess traditional risk-return assumptions. These changes bring greater uncertainty, but also open new investment opportunities," said Fan Hua, Head of BlackRock China and Chairman of BlackRock Fund. In such an environment, distinguishing short-term fluctuations from long-term trends is particularly crucial. BlackRock is committed to translating global market developments into investment solutions tailored for Chinese clients.

AI Infrastructure Boom: Massive Investment, Return Uncertainties, and Valuation Scrutiny

Artificial intelligence is widely regarded as a pivotal technological force driving the next wave of productivity revolution. Projections indicate that cumulative global AI-related investments will reach $1.8 trillion by 2026. The pace and intensity of AI infrastructure investment in the United States are unprecedented, yet whether these massive outlays will generate commensurate returns remains the market's most contentious debate. Lu Wenjie, Greater China Investment Strategist at BlackRock, noted that current skepticism around AI centers on three key questions: whether AI infrastructure will be built as scheduled, whether it can achieve genuine profitability, and whether financing can be sustained. He expressed cautiously optimistic views on these fronts. The latest U.S. earnings season shows that "AI is already generating profits," with the B2B software ecosystem driving rapid AI application penetration. However, whether equity and bond markets can absorb the substantial new financing demand warrants close monitoring. He anticipates that completed AI infrastructure will usher in a new era of prosperity, with AI technology significantly boosting production efficiency and ultimately leading to lower U.S. inflation over the long term.

Wang Xiaojing, Chief Equity, Multi-Asset, and Index Investment Officer at BlackRock Fund, pointed out that China and the U.S. are the only two countries with clear positions across all five layers of the AI architecture—energy, chips, infrastructure, models, and applications. In secondary markets, BlackRock focuses primarily on the hardware layers that possess natural competitive advantages, including semiconductors, optical modules, power generation, and energy storage, while maintaining a relatively cautious stance on models and applications. Wang emphasized that identifying losers to avoid in the AI wave is more time-sensitive than picking winners. Regarding AI valuation bubbles, Liu Rui, Deputy General Manager and Chief Investment Officer of BlackRock CCB Wealth Management, offered a quantitative assessment: the S&P 500 currently trades at a P/E ratio of approximately 20 times, sitting at the midpoint of its 15-25 times range over the past decade. "From the perspectives of demand, earnings, and valuation, we don't see particularly obvious signs of a bubble." He also noted that 70% of S&P 500 companies discussed AI applications in their Q2 earnings calls, up significantly from 30% two years ago, indicating robust demand-side support.

Soaring U.S. Treasury Yields: Opportunities and Boundaries in Fixed Income's 'Golden Era'

The continued climb in U.S. Treasury yields is a key factor influencing asset allocation decisions. In May 2026, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield broke through the 5% threshold, reaching its highest level in nearly two decades. The high-interest-rate environment has opened unprecedented opportunities for fixed income investing. "This is the golden era of fixed income," Lu Wenjie stated, citing BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income, Rick Rieder. Technology giants are raising funds through bond issuance and private credit to finance AI infrastructure construction because the profit margins on AI infrastructure can reach 20% or even 50%, making companies willing to bear financing costs of 5% to 10%. Strong AI demand is currently a primary source of high yields in the fixed income market.

However, Lu Wenjie clearly indicated that BlackRock maintains an "underweight" position on long-duration U.S. bonds. Structural challenges—including the U.S. fiscal deficit approaching 6% of GDP, rising military and interest expenditures, and tariff revenues turning from positive to negative—have not shown significant improvement, and bond market risks remain considerable. From Australian government bonds to U.S. MBS, from Asia-Pacific bonds to AI infrastructure private credit, assets yielding over 5% are "abundant" globally. Enhancing the precision of allocation is key to improving portfolio performance.

Retirement Investment Exploration: Ecosystem Construction and Localized Product Innovation

Retirement was another core theme of the conference. Zach Bevevino, Head of Asia Pacific Multi-Asset Product Strategy at BlackRock, revealed that retirement-related assets account for approximately half of BlackRock's global assets under management. With population aging, increasing personal responsibility for investment, and product localization, retirement investing will no longer be just a product but an ecosystem requiring the coordinated efforts of sound regulation, appropriate investment strategies, investor education, and incentive mechanisms—and it must evolve dynamically over time. Tu Jiayi, Multi-Asset Retirement Product Manager at BlackRock CCB Wealth Management, shared BlackRock's localization practices in China's retirement investment market. Given Chinese investors' conservative preferences, BlackRock CCB Wealth Management emphasizes four principles in retirement product design: long-term investing, diversification, early investing, and investment equality.

On the regulatory front, holding period requirements for retirement wealth management products have been extended to over five years, with personal pension wealth management products requiring a minimum holding period exceeding one year. In terms of product portfolios, BlackRock achieves diversification across equities and bonds, as well as domestic and overseas allocations, closely aligned with investor risk profiles. Additionally, BlackRock is working to introduce alternative investment strategies—previously accessible only to overseas institutional investors—into personal pension products, realizing "investment equality."

From Decarbonization to Cost Reduction: The Global Shift to Energy Pragmatism

Structural trends—including digital innovation and AI, geopolitical dynamics and economic competition, the energy transition and resilience, demographic shifts, and the future architecture of the financial system—are reshaping long-term growth and inflation outlooks while driving the redistribution of profitability across economies and industries. Energy and infrastructure sit at the intersection of these trends. Heidi Yip, Head of BlackRock's Asia Pacific Sustainable Transition Solutions team, noted that the world is entering an "era of energy pragmatism," where countries are no longer pursuing decarbonization targets in isolation but are seeking balance among national security, energy reliability, affordability, and decarbonization goals. With solar, wind, and battery storage costs having declined dramatically over the past decade, the investment rationale for clean energy has expanded from "decarbonization" to encompass "cost reduction" and "enhancing industrial competitiveness."

China's economy has recently been driven by innovation and industrial upgrading, with the country becoming a global supply chain hub in batteries, electric vehicles, solar, and wind equipment. Investment opportunities have expanded from traditional heavyweight stocks to semiconductors, robotics, energy storage systems, and power equipment. Heidi Yip emphasized that the energy transition is becoming more regional, more physical, and multi-speed. Consequently, active management and selective investing are essential for identifying risks and opportunities in an evolving market environment and pursuing superior risk-adjusted returns.

From Idle Cash to Active Management: Money Market Funds Surpass $10 Trillion

Against the backdrop of persistently high U.S. dollar rates and heightened geopolitical uncertainty, cash has evolved from idle capital sitting in accounts to an independent asset class requiring active management. Money market funds, as cash management tools offering diversification, high liquidity, and operational convenience, have grown increasingly important. By the end of 2025, global money market fund assets exceeded $10 trillion, setting a historic record, with net inflows surpassing $1 trillion in 2025 alone. According to Zhao Meng, Strategist for BlackRock's Asia Pacific Cash Team, BlackRock's cash management platform manages approximately $1.1 trillion. The firm's three guiding principles for money market fund management are, in order: capital stability, liquidity, and yield—with principal safety always the top priority.

The signals BlackRock is sending in the Chinese market are clear and pragmatic: the AI wave is worth participating in but requires careful positioning; fixed income's "golden era" demands meticulous selection; retirement investing is transitioning from products to ecosystems; the energy transition is entering a new phase of "pragmatic cost reduction"; and money market funds are being reevaluated. In today's environment of accelerating global capital flows where risk and opportunity coexist, only by viewing short-term volatility through a long-term lens and approaching local allocation with a global perspective can investors navigate steadily through the tides of change.