China’s stock market, the second largest in the world, has entered a bear market. Its benchmark CSI 300 index closed 20% below its June peak on 22 October, and mainland shares have lost about US$2.4 trillion in value since May. The fall has not been a single dramatic crash. It has been a steady slide over roughly ten weeks, and there is still no clear sign of a turn. Here is what is behind it, how Beijing is responding, and what it could mean for global markets and Indian inv