A government-controlled supplier of surveillance equipment is one of the most popular Chinese companies in the world right now, at least with institutional investors. Hangzhou Hikvision, one of China’s so-called A-shares, listed in renminbi on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, is among the stocks to have been selected for inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index from Friday, obliging asset managers all over the world to consider investing in them.

If the attraction of Hikvision seems obvious — a Beijing-backed business in a booming sector in an authoritarian country — then the other two most favoured stocks are also telling. One is a drinks company and the other a supplier of electrical appliances — both apparent bets on the rise of China’s middle-class consumer.

Although only 233 A-shares will be added in the first tranche to the index — which is followed by investors controlling $1.6tn in assets — to many, this represents a pivotal moment. Subsequent planned additions are set to radically reshape the global equity landscape.