U.S. investors just sent a loud message: not every Chinese stock is radioactive. Chagee (CHA, Financial), the Shanghai-based premium tea chain, surged 16% in its Nasdaq debut after pricing its IPO at the top end of the range. The company raised $411 million and closed its first day at $32.44, pushing its market cap to $3.8 billion. Even as geopolitical risk and tariff noise rattle the broader market, Chagee's clean domestic growth story proved too compelling to ignore.

This wasn't a sleepy offering either. Chagee's IPO, led by Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and CICC, was flooded with orders — well above the 14.7 million ADS on offer. Ahead of the bookbuild, investors had already indicated interest worth over $200 million. Unlike other Chinese names exposed to U.S. regulatory heat, Chagee's mainland-focused business and low trade war sensitivity helped it stand out from the crowd. The listing follows the runaway success of Mixue in Hong Kong, signaling broader investor appetite for China's fast-evolving consumer space.

Behind the scenes, the IPO instantly catapulted Chagee's 30-year-old founder into the billionaire club, a feat that mirrors the kind of hyper-growth stories investors once chased in tech. But this time, it's premium tea — not platforms or semis — that's creating outsized value. As U.S.-China tensions cloud the outlook for some sectors, Chagee's debut offers a reminder that investors are still hungry for growth — as long as the story is crisp, the brand is hot, and the path to profitability is steeped in local momentum.