Finance & economics | Breaking the banks

Xi Jinping promises financial stability. He is not delivering it

China’s property crack-up causes problems elsewhere

TOPSHOT - A news program shows Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking via video link to the World Health Assembly, on a giant screen beside a street in Beijing on May 18, 2020. - China supports a "comprehensive evaluation" of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic after it "has been brought under control", President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly on May 18. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

Nov 1st 2022|Hong Kong and Shanghai

Fang Hong is not a typical activist. For years she has run a packaging-materials factory in Qinzhou, a mid-tier city in southern China. Recently, though, the 51-year-old lost millions of yuan investing in “low-risk” financial products. The experience was a shock—and pushed her to connect with hundreds of mainly wealthy people, who, like her, are indignant about their losses. Ms Fang has been gathering information and petitioning local regulators. In September she gathered in the lobby of her bank with customers from around the country to demand their money back.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Breaking the banks”