Illustration: VCG

Billionaire investor George Soros, who is despised by many around the world for triggering and profiting from crises, started a fresh campaign against China's economy over the country's recent regulatory actions. But like his repeatedly failures and massive losses in betting against the world's second-largest economy before, Soros' latest attempt is not only doomed to fail but will also erase any credibility he still has when it comes to China.

In an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Soros called BlackRock's recent decision to introduce mutual funds in China "a tragic mistake" that is "likely to lose money for BlackRock's clients." In the article titled "BlackRock's China Blunder," he even went on to suggest that the move would "damage the national security interests of the US and other democracies."

This was the third article Soros wrote in recent weeks for several Western media outlets, in which he slammed China over the country's recent regulatory actions in the internet and other sectors, clearly aiming to trigger panic about the Chinese market and profit from it. 

But investors apparently were not buying what Soros was selling. And it seems that it's Soros, not BlackRock, who is facing a blunder in China. Just days after Soros' earlier opinion pieces, BlackRock announced that it had raised $1 billion through its first mutual fund in China, according to media reports. 

On Wednesday, BlackRock responded Soros' criticism, saying that "we believe that globally integrated financial markets provide people, companies, and governments in all countries with better and more efficient access to capital that supports economic growth around the world."

Soros has become a noisy and partisan critic of China's recent market regulation, and his limited understanding of China's economy is clear in his financial decision-making. Given the fact that Soros' investment company recently liquidated its positions in a number of US-listed Chinese companies such as Tencent Music Entertainment, Baidu Inc and Vipshop Holdings, his latest criticism against China looks more like a venting of his frustration about heavy investment losses.

But such ill attempts, which are full of subjective political nonsense and fear-mongering about the Chinese economy, will only serve to make the so-called financial titan sound less credible and more out of touch than many previously thought. We all know that none of Soros' doomsday predictions about the Chinese financial market have turned out to be accurate.

This time, Soros' criticism doesn't even hold water to many in the West. For instance, veteran emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius has been "pretty positive" on the steps China has been taking, which he believed has created investment opportunities.

While it is true that some investors raised questions and concerns over China's recent regulatory actions, it should be pointed out that the moves are aimed at improving market conditions and cracking down on illegal business practices so as to create a fairer market for all. In fact, similar regulatory changes have also taken place in some Western countries, where internet giants like Facebook are facing increasing scrutiny, as governments around the world move to regulate monopolistic internet giants, as they attempt to level the playing field for smaller firms.

Investors at home and abroad are bound to benefit from a fair, well-regulated and sustainable Chinese market. Against the backdrop of China's accelerated financial opening-up, badmouthing the Chinese economy will only make those who are unable to separate fact from fiction when it comes to China appear stubborn and shortsighted.

In the past, Soros had profited greatly by playing up panic over imminent financial disaster in a number of countries. Fortunately, the markets' response or lack of response to his latest slander against China's regulatory actions suggested that his time may have finally passed.