(FORTUNE Magazine) – Bustling stock markets may not be too far off for the People's Republic. Although its two fledgling securities exchanges -- Shanghai and Shenzhen -- list just 21 stocks between them, that number should reach nearly 200 by , 1995. Such is the word from Wen Yuan Wei, president of the Shanghai exchange, who recently spent a month in the U.S. learning capitalism's ways. Many of the 400,000 Chinese who have taken investment plunges have prospered (see chart for how the Shanghai exchange has done), and China's huge potential promises more gains. The economy is growing at an 8% average annual rate and the country has an $8 billion trade surplus. So far, U.S. brokers that trade in Chinese stocks act almost exclusively for big institutional investors. But several mutual funds that will open the market to individuals could be available this year. Can't wait? You may be able to fill your order by calling a broker like Swiss Bank, which operates in Hong Kong. Don't expect the budding economic reform to lead to political reform anytime soon. Still, says Deshun Wang, Shanghai's foreign exchange director, who accompanied Wei on his trip to the U.S.: ''Only through these reforms can China have a future. There is not a person who can change this.''

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: MARIA KEEHAN FOR FORTUNE/SOURCE: SWISS BANK CAPTION: HOW SHANGHAI'S DOW IS DOING