China Stocks Gripped by Gloom in Worst Start to Year Since 2016

  • Policy uncertainty and trade frictions are among major risks
  • The MSCI China Index entered a bear market last week

The CSI 300 Index has lost more than 5% in the first seven trading sessions of 2025.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

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A familiar sense of pessimism is returning for equity investors in China, with rising geopolitical risks hinting at more trouble for the market after a disappointing start to the new year.

The CSI 300 Index, a benchmark of onshore shares, has lost more than 5% in the first seven trading sessions of 2025, its worst such performance for any year since 2016, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While a painful start doesn’t always lead to a bad year, the CSI 300 gauge did lose over 11% in 2016.