(Yicai) Sept. 2 -- The National Social Security Fund generated a record-high investment income of CNY390.7 billion (USD58.1 billion) last year amid strong performance of the Chinese stock market.

The NSSF posted a 13.2 percent investment return in 2025, the highest in five years, according to a financial report released yesterday by its governing body, the National Council for Social Security Fund. Since its establishment in 2000, the fund has achieved an average annual investment return of 7.6 percent, generating a total of CNY2.29 trillion (USD340.6 billion). 

The record performance came against a backdrop of strong gains in major Chinese stock indexes last year, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 18.4 percent. The SSE SciTech Innovation Board Composite Index and the ChiNext Index, which track the leading stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses' technology boards, jumped 46 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

The NSSF's assets topped CNY3.81 trillion as of Dec. 31, up CNY485.9 billion year over year, with domestic assets reaching CNY3.23 trillion. Its total liabilities stood at CNY461.7 billion, made up mainly of short-term liabilities incurred during the investment process.

The NSSF is China's strategic social security reserve fund, with its capital primarily coming from central government allocations, the transfer of state-owned capital, and investment returns. It participates in the allocation of various asset classes domestically and overseas, with the core objective of preserving and increasing its asset value while ensuring its safety, while also serving as an important long-term institutional investor in the Chinese stock market.

The NSSF posted a record-high investment return of 43.2 percent in 2007, but faced an investment loss of 6.8 percent the following year. It has only recorded investment losses in 2008, 2018, and 2022.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev