The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 18.4 percent in April, its strongest monthly performance since the index launched in 2020 and one of the most powerful sector moves anywhere in global equities this year.

The catalyst was a series of measured but unmistakable signals from Beijing — including a State Council meeting that singled out the platform economy as a "strategic productive force" — that the multi-year regulatory campaign against the sector is genuinely behind it.

Long-only fund managers, who had reduced China weights to historic lows, are tentatively returning. EPFR data show $7.1 billion of net inflows into China-dedicated equity funds in April, the largest monthly figure since early 2023.

Skeptics note that the underlying earnings recovery remains uneven, that consumer demand has yet to durably re-accelerate, and that a single geopolitical headline could reverse positioning overnight.