Nice Place to Visit; But you don't necessarily want to invest there. Consider this: China's economy more than doubled over the last decade, but an index of its stocks was down two thirds.

Publication: Newsweek

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Byline: Allan Sloan, Sloan is NEWSWEEK's Wall Street editor. His e-mail is sloan@panix.com.

Think of the opportunities to make money investing in an enormous, rapidly developing country that spans a continent. It's a place that welcomes foreign investors, and has a capitalistic culture and an eager, hardworking population. It sure sounds like China in the 21st century, doesn't it? But I'm talking about the United States of America in the 19th century. And thereby hangs our tale. And it's a cautionary one.

While almost everyone thinks that the Chinese economy is a can't-miss bet, that doesn't make Chinese stocks a can't-miss investment. These stocks are exceptionally tricky for amateur U.S. investors who...

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