> So if you've ever thought about what you actually own if you buy a share of a Chinese company on a US stock market, say Alibaba( BABA US Equity), you aren't actually getting a share in Alibaba in the same way you can buy a share in Microsoft.
Isn't this similar to how American stockholders don't actually own the shares of stock, but rather the Depository Trust Company owns ALL shares of all stocks, and you only own a...Nomination(?)...to control the shares and receive the dividends?
If they went offline, could anybody buy or sell stocks?