Which 2015 crash saw China’s Shanghai Composite Index fall by about 30% between June and July?

The 2015 crash in which China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by about 30 percent between June and July was the Chinese stock market crash.

The Shanghai Composite had risen sharply during the first half of 2015, attracting many individual investors and widespread margin borrowing. A decline that began in June accelerated as leveraged investors faced pressure to sell. By July 2015, the index had lost roughly one-third from its peak.

Chinese authorities responded with measures including trading suspensions, restrictions on some selling, and support for major financial institutions. The government also investigated alleged market manipulation. These interventions slowed the immediate collapse but raised questions about how much influence authorities should exert over equity markets.

This episode is sometimes confused with China’s separate market turbulence in early 2016, when circuit breakers were introduced and quickly abandoned. The 2015 decline was the larger initial sell-off and is closely associated with margin-financed speculation.