Beijing Hasn’t Stopped Watching the Markets
The Chinese authorities have done little to try to halt this week’s stock slide. That doesn’t mean they are ready to let market forces have their way.
Has Beijing suddenly become a fan of free markets? The Chinese authorities have largely stayed on the sidelines this week as the global roller-coaster ride has spread to their shores. The Shanghai Composite, the country’s main equities benchmark, slipped 4.1% Friday, its worst one-day drop since August 2015. On Thursday, the yuan suffered its sharpest one-day slide against the dollar since its surprise devaluation that same summer.
The sudden laissez-faire attitude is a bit surprising, if only because Chinese markets had gone...