China’s “national team” owns at least 6 per cent of the mainland stock market following the summer rescue to prop up prices, putting even more of the $4.2tn bourses into state hands.

Government rescue funds were corralled into buying shares when the equity markets went into meltdown over summer. The intervention succeeded in propping up prices: the Shanghai Composite Index has since recovered by 28 per cent from its late August low point.

The two state financial institutions that led the stock market bailout in July and August increased their ownership of the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges from 4.6 per cent of total tradeable A-share market capitalisation at the end of June to 5.6 per cent three months later, according to Wind, a financial database.