Chinese React to U.S. Embassy Post on Stock Plunge

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the buildings of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, April 21, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BEIJING (Reuters) – Many Chinese are expressing their dissatisfaction with the sluggish economy and the underperforming stock market on the social media account of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. A post shared by the U.S. embassy on Weibo (NASDAQ:) regarding the protection of wild giraffes has received 130,000 comments and 15,000 reposts. Many of these responses are not related to wildlife conservation. “Could you spare us some missiles to bomb away the Shanghai Stock Exchange?” one user commented on the article. Some users referred to the U.S. embassy in China as the “Wailing Wall of Chinese retail equity investors.” The U.S. embassy has not yet responded to a Reuters request for comment. While Weibo users are able to post individually about the market and the economy, Chinese authorities regularly censor what they consider to be “negative” online comments when they gain attention. The ability to comment on posts related to the economy or the markets on social media platforms can also be restricted, limiting avenues for people to voice their opinions. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index experienced a 6.3% decline last month, reaching five-year lows, despite numerous government support measures in place to bolster confidence amid various economic challenges, including a prolonged property downturn, weak domestic spending, and deflationary pressures. In late January, state media announced that China would implement more assertive measures to boost market confidence following a meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. Since then, Chinese authorities have intensified efforts to reassure investors, but the positive messages sometimes have the opposite effect. On Friday, the official People’s Daily published an article titled: “The entire country is filled with optimism”. This headline was promptly ridiculed on Chinese social media. A Weibo user, in reference to the U.S. embassy’s giraffe protection article, quipped: “The entire giraffe community is filled with optimism.”

Author: OpenAI