The Shanghai and tech-heavy Shenzhen stock markets crashed 32 percent and 40 percent, respectively, from peak (June 12) to trough (July 8), wiping out over $3.2 trillion in value — equivalent to the market capitalizations of France and Spain combined. The Chinese state responded with a series of extraordinary and unprecedented measures, essentially rendering it illegal for share prices to go anywhere but up. Chinese stocks obliged, and while there is still volatility, just a few weeks later the markets have recovered roughly 15 percent.

What just happened?

Perhaps we can call it a “stock market crash with Chinese characteristics,” to echo Deng Xiaoping’s phrase coined to describe the introduction of capitalism in China from 1978: “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”