Investors outside China will soon get expanded access to mainland-listed stocks. Starting in mid-October, foreigners will be able to buy some 568 stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through Hong Kong brokerage accounts, in a program called Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

Individual US investors who want exposure to those so-called A shares, though, already have an easy and diversified way to get it: through a handful of exchange-traded funds that have already been allowed to hold those shares.