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Hong Kong: Stock markets under pressure, weak domestic consumption and a struggling real estate market are causing problems for Chinese small investors and companies

Photo: Vernon Yuen / picture alliance / NurPhoto

In view of the decline in China's stock markets, citizens of the People's Republic are venting their frustration via social media - and are also using the US embassy account as a suggestion box. On Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of

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Many of the reactions had nothing to do with the topic: "Can't you spare some rockets to bomb the stock exchange in Shanghai?" wrote one user sarcastically. The Weibo account of the US embassy in China “has become a wailing wall for Chinese small investors,” said another user. There was no immediate comment from the US Embassy, ​​which posted its post on Friday.

While Weibo users can publish individual posts about the market and the economy, the Chinese authorities regularly block what they consider to be negative online comments if they reach wider circles.

»The entire giraffe community is full of optimism«

Although the Chinese economy has recovered after the end of the corona crisis, the export-driven country continues to suffer from weak global demand, a struggling real estate market and weak domestic consumption, which has been causing prices to continue to fall for months. This is also reflected on the stock markets: the CSI300 stock index fell by 6.3 percent in January. A series of government support measures have failed to boost confidence, which has been hit by the economic situation.

In late January, state media reported that China would take "more vigorous" measures to boost market confidence after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. To stabilize the stock market, the People's Republic is considering a package of measures worth billions.

Since then, Chinese authorities have stepped up their efforts to reassure investors, sending positive messages that sometimes have the opposite effect. Recently, the official mouthpiece "People's Daily" published an article with the headline: "The whole country is full of optimism." However, the headline was met with ridicule on social media. One Weibo user wrote in a post about the US Embassy's giraffe conservation article: "The entire giraffe community is full of optimism."

faq/Reuters