Why Chinese Are Rushing Into a ‘Casino’ Stock Market

They call China’s stock market a “casino,” yet they are rushing in. They are betting money that the government really does want to finally crawl out of the hole it has dug. They are speculating, looking for short-term gains, with a great degree of uneasiness.

A flurry of policies by Beijing in recent weeks meant to stimulate the domestic economy has spurred China’s middle class to invest more in stocks, prompting the country’s biggest rally since 2008.

In recent interviews, investors said that doing something, even putting their savings into a market full of risks, gives them a sense of control when their country seems to be going astray. They worry that the government is doing more to prime the market than to help the economy, but for now they are clinging to a familiar, bubbly feeling in an era of deflation.

“We are all ‘garlic chives’ to be harvested by our ruler,” said Wang, a Beijing resident who said he invested more than $150,000. He invoked an online meme that says Chinese people are vegetables waiting to be plucked from the ground. “But if I take the initiative to participate in the market, at least I have some control over my destiny,” he said.

Mr. Wang was one of 10 Chinese investors I interviewed last week, some by video and others by email and text message exchanges. All of them are professionals or business owners. They have money to invest but are not super rich.

They all spoke on condition that I use only their surnames for fear of retribution. The government has censored articles and comments critical of its recent measures, which some said is contributing more to the market rally than it will to economic revival.