When Stocks Crash, China Turns to Its ‘National Team’

It rose to prominence when China’s stock market imploded in 2015, spending billions of dollars on equities as the authorities hurried to stem the losses. Now, with more than $6 trillion wiped off the value of Chinese and Hong Kong shares since a peak in 2021, there’s high anticipation that the “national team” will ride to the rescue once more.

It’s the term used to describe the state-related bodies that Chinese authorities lean on to buy stocks during times of turbulence. The precipitous declines of 2015 — the Shanghai Composite Index dropped more than 40% from its peak in the space of 2-1/2 months — stoked fears for the stability of China’s financial system. The panic abated when the national team splurged on mainland shares, known as A shares, and injected liquidity into some asset management companies.