Watch billionaire investor Ray Dalio defend China's move to disappear citizens from the public eye by likening it to being 'a strict parent'

• Ray Dalio compared China's move to take citizens out of the public eye to that of a strict parent.
• The founder of Bridgewater Associates was speaking with Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC.
• Dalio has long been bullish on China, and his firm has surpassed many private-fund managers there.

The billionaire investor Ray Dalio likened China's move to banish private citizens from the public eye to that of a "strict parent."

The founder of the investment-management firm Bridgewater Associates was speaking with the CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin on Tuesday.

Sorkin asked Dalio how he reconciled investing in the country when it has human-rights issues and some of its high-profile citizens have vanished from the public view recently.

Dalio said: "As a top-down country, what they're doing — it's kind of like a strict parent. They behave like a strict parent, and they go through that. That is their approach. We have our approach."

The investor has long been bullish on the Asian superpower. His firm, the largest hedge fund, which has $150 billion in assets under management, has surpassed most other private-fund managers in China with its 8 billion yuan fund.

Watch the clip below.

The Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai vanished from the public view on November 2 after accusing former Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. She reappeared a few weeks later, but the disappearance had sparked a public outcry on a national and global scale.

On Wednesday, the Women's Tennis Association announced an immediate suspension of all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, because of Peng's treatment.

The former US Open semifinalist's disappearance from the public eye came after Alibaba founder Jack Ma was unseen publicly for several months after sparring with Chinese regulators.