Can't speak to the US situation, but here in Canada there are anti-money laundering "know your client" rules for securities brokers - and securities are far more regulated in the US than Canada (Canada has no equivalent of the SEC). You can't just buy millions of dollars of publicly-traded securities through an anonymous shell corporation.

No such rules exist for housing that is purchased outright and not financed.

These people don't want an investment, per se. They need to store the money, but also to hide it. If the beneficial ownership of the assets purchased with the money is obscured, they can't be clawed back if they are arrested in China and charged with stealing that money in the first place.

It may be a bit different than outright stealing. Many Chinese businesses make money in a foreign currency outside of China. Instead of bringing the money in and then finding that they can't re-export it they leave it abroad and use it to buy real estate and pretty much anything else they can get their hands on.

This makes for a fairly large but hidden component of the trade imbalance.

The only other way to get funds > $50K out of China is through getting 'permission' which equates giving the right people a cut, or maybe you'll find your money confiscated.

Source: did some business with the Chinese well in excess of that $50k.

It makes no sense from a money making standpoint. But they're not doing it to make money. They're doing it as a backup in case something goes bad in China. It's like insurance. Also a nice place to stay while in the US for short periods.

1) You don't get citizenship, but your kid(s) likely will, after they study and get a job there.

2) There are many native Chinese property managers in these markets (coastal US, Vancouver, Sydney) specializing in supplying info and property management services to mainland Chinese looking to invest/speculate.

3) Expensive is relative. Seattle property is about half the price of property in Beijing or Shanghai (while the average income is about 3 to 4 times as high)

4) As others have noted, stocks are a lot more regulated. And in China they're perceived as much more speculative than property.

I am sure there are businesses whose sole job it is to manage these properties on behalf of their owners for a fee. Considering that they are buying property in usually lawful places where the chances of someone usurping your property from you (or illegally squatting on it) are low, I think they don't have much cause for worry.

US has a ~40 thousand people backlog for an investor visa

People can wait for an investor visa for 5 or more years easily