Once again Beijing has stepped in to support a falling market and as usual critics call it unnecessary intervention and a sign of an immature market. But this time, mainland policymakers have a new answer to the criticism.
'Didn't the west just bail out their banks falling in the subprime crisis in the name of financial stability?' That is the tune widely sung in Beijing. In short, who has a clear enough conscience to point his finger at us?
Indeed, the subprime crisis and the authorities' handling of it have challenged many beliefs long held by the west and by many mainland reformers as well. The crucial notion is that with a clear set of rules and freedom from government intervention, the efficient market will find the optimal solution.
US and European regulators - who pointed their fingers at the autocratic political system, poor supervision, the moral hazard created by government intervention as well as by corruption in the east during the Asian financial crisis - now witness that a crisis on an even bigger scale has erupted at home.
Instead of leaving the supposedly efficient market to work itself out, American and European central bankers chose to bail out troubled players, such as Northern Rock and Bear Stearns.
Ever since the Bank of England decided to nationalise Northern Rock late last year, there has been a new round of debate among financial officials and academics in China on the role of markets and government. And it intensified as the crisis worsened.
