Asian markets opened to their worst trading day since the 1997 financial crisis, with Chinese stocks plummeting over 7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng experiencing a 13.22% drop. This "Black Monday" followed Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" and China's retaliatory measures announced last week.
By mid-morning, China's "national team" intervened with Central Huijin Investment purchasing A-shares to stabilize markets. Beijing instructed foreign companies like Tesla and GE Healthcare to blame Washington for the turmoil.
Throughout the day, state media maintained its synchronized messaging strategy. Multiple outlets simultaneously published identical articles on "learning from Xi's classical references" in the morning, followed by coordinated pieces on "ecological environmental protection supervision" by afternoon. The publication of "Xi Jinping's Selected Works on Economics" was highlighted amid the market chaos.
Trump escalated tensions further, threatening additional 50% tariffs if Beijing doesn't drop its countermeasures.