Chinese Express Frustration Over Weak Stock Market on Social Media

In an attempt to express their frustration with the economic slowdown and weak stock market performance, several Chinese citizens have turned to an unexpected outlet: the U.S. Embassy's account in Beijing on a social media platform. A post made by the U.S. Embassy on Friday about protecting wild giraffes on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform similar to X, garnered significant interaction, receiving up to 130,000 comments and 15,000 shares by Sunday, many of which were unrelated to the post's subject. One user commented in response to the embassy's post after sharing it: "Can you supply us with missiles to bomb the Shanghai Stock Exchange?" Another user remarked that the U.S. Embassy's Weibo account in China has become akin to a "Wailing Wall" for individual investors in Chinese stocks. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Although Weibo users can write individual posts about the market and economy, Chinese authorities continuously prohibit what they deem "negative" comments online when they gain significant traction. Comments on posts related to the economy or markets can also be disabled on social media platforms, or only certain comments may be displayed, restricting the channels through which people can express their opinions.