Aggressive policy action is now a regular feature of global markets — Haruhiko Kuroda had his bazooka, while Ben Bernanke took to a helicopter.
But in China, falling asset prices have met a full-scale invasion of the market, securing an expensive victory that many believe could yet prove fleeting.
After three months of huge government intervention to halt diving stocks, Chinese authorities appear ready to declare their mission accomplished. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, told a G20 meeting last weekend that the stock market correction, which has left the Shanghai Composite nearly 40 per cent below its June high, is now “mostly over”.