In May alone, more than 12m equity trading accounts opened in China — a figure somewhat higher than the population of Greece. No wonder: a year of gains had helped the Chinese stock market put on $6.5tn in value. Since mid-June $2tn have disappeared. China may be experiencing an equity bubble only ever exceeded during the late 1990s US dotcom boom.

These numbers dwarf the billions of euros at stake in negotiations between Greece and its creditors. In light of such figures, it is fair to ask whether the world’s media is attending to the right global drama. As in Athens, events move at such a pace that keeping track is no easy task.

Friday saw over 7 per cent falls in Shenzhen and Shanghai indices, a rout that worsened on Monday, before a rebound the day after. Into the middle of this stepped the People’s Bank of China with a Saturday interest rate cut and an easing of reserve requirements, a move widely interpreted as being a response to the stock market turmoil.