Unverified Screenshots Produce Rising Chinese Stocks, Investors Plummet – Bloomberg

Nobody knows for sure who wrote it, when it was written or if it is true. But a screenshot of a four-paragraph document detailing China’s plans to get out of its “zero crown” policy was enough to spur traders to buy Chinese stocks, pushing the shares higher for two days.

The unconfirmed post is a black on white document with no signs indicating its origin. More than a dozen investors, who requested anonymity, said it started circulating on a WeChat group full of analysts and fund managers on the night of October 31 and spread like wildfire the next morning.

The screenshot shows that Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning, who is fourth in the Chinese Communist Party hierarchy, held a meeting with coronavirus experts on the 30th of the same month at the request of President Xi Jinping. Mr. Xi is written as “Big Boss” and Mr. Wang as “WHN”, and there are also some ingenuity to avoid censorship. Posts and messages on social media about China’s political elite are strictly controlled.

The meeting was also attended by members from sectors such as economics and propaganda and was reportedly discussed to “accelerate the formulation of a conditional deregulation plan with the aim of a substantial opening by March next year” .

China’s National Health Commission at the end of Thursday called for strict adherence to its zero-crown policy. However, traders’ enthusiasm did not cool and the US-listed Chinese equity index continued to rise.

Chinese authorities demand strict compliance with “zero coronavirus” policy – stock market reacts weakly (1)

Chinese equities have performed among the worst in the world so far this year, as China’s economic growth slows to near a 40-year low. Now that Mr. Xi has solidified an important position in the party with his inner circle, expectations are high that the economic stimulus will come out at the National People’s Congress in March next year.