Zhu Rongji, when mayor of Shanghai, apparently once complained about the retail investors who would sometimes protest outside city hall when the value of their portfolios collapsed. In a perhaps apocryphal quip, Mr Zhu — who went on to become Chinese premier — claimed it would have been easier to be mayor in the city’s pre-revolutionary 1920s and 30s heyday, when angry investors were more likely to jump out of windows.
It has been 12 long years since Mr Zhu retired, denying journalists the pleasure of his acerbic wit. But his observation about those so-called “mom and pop” investors still resonates as the ruling Chinese Communist party attempts to rescue the country’s stock markets from their worst crisis since the Shanghai exchange was reconstituted in 1990.
At issue is the nature of China Inc’s relationship with the markets — and Mr Zhu’s complaint cuts to the heart of this. Because when one of the party’s favourite slogans, wei renmin fuwu (serve the people), morphs into wei gumin fuwu (serve the investors), it has important implications for listed companies and their shareholders.