> The answer is yes, foreigners are allowed to purchase property in China! The essential requirement is that you have studied or worked in China for at least one year on a residence permit. Foreigners are allowed to only own one residential property for dwelling purposes. You may not rent out the property or act as a landlord. Requirements and restrictions may differ in different provinces and cities. For example, Shanghai requires that non-Shanghai hukou families, including foreigners, have to provide proof of income tax or social insurance to the local government.

http://anychinavisa.com/news/can-foreigners-buy-a-house-in-c...

So to be more precise what you actually can't do is speculate in Chinese real estate.

I think you missed my point.

The US is a capitalist society; if you have sufficient money US National or not, you have nearly carte blanche to do what you want.

Regardless of China et al laws for foreign home ownership, the US is very permissible simply because money.