I agree with the basic schema:
* Leverage external $$ (from China) and mortgage (from US)
* Use minimum cash for each property (at most 25%)
* Use rent to cover all expenses (even positive cash-flow)
* Long-term investment and should have good return
But, it still takes lot of efforts:
* Property management
* Selecting each property
Again, one can use professionals to help in these steps but it's still lot of work.
Last, there is no easy model in building up such partnership; and the partnership needs last very very long time (>>5 years).