I do not understand how you can talk about US, EU and Japan but not mention China. Because I'd bet China is in a similar league and has better prospects than any of the three.
This is incorrect. There are lots of ETFs that now directly hold China A shares. CSI 300 index is the equiv of S&P 500 in mainland China. Also, via HK Stock Exchange, you can buy China A shares via "northbound connect". A broker like Interactive Brokers supports this type of trading and the bizarre/special currency (CNH) required for it. That said, I excluded China because it is not developed and has awful transparency.
And if you look at the composition of the indices and ETFs you realize that you aren't participating in the innovative China, but get typical developing country stocks and very limited exposure to innovation.
Also -10% over the last 5 years vs. +103% for the S&P500
All good points. So why not just buy Hang Seng Index? Most of the growth in HSI comes from these innovative Mainland Chinese companies. You don't need to worry about CSI 300 and all of the silliness around CNH current!
China is not considered a developed market nor "free". Also, in most developed markets, when the economy is strong, the stock market will boom. China has many, many years when the stock market is weak, but the economy is strong. It is hard to be excited about the Chinese stock market.