You can transfer out more than that from your account, if you can show approved reasons. The $15k limit is on ATM cards+forex buys at the bank. There are also tons of grey ways to get cash out too, especially if you have a lot of money.
It's all just really shitty to have to deal with when it's your own money. So yeah, not looking to "invest" in China until they allow the money to come out no questions asked.