It is widely acknowledged that illegal activities are commonplace in the Chinese stock market, as prominently featured in dedicated reports on national TV broadcasts. For instance, in April 2021, a piece on CCTV covered a corporate crime case that targeted stock market investors, involving up to RMB 400 million. The criminal group in question claimed to possess inside information on the market, running online communities on WeChat that resembled ordinary group chats providing training courses and trading instructions. In these chats, the criminals disguised themselves as ordinary investors to interact with targeted victims, nurturing trust that eventually led victims to commit their money to the alleged insiders. In most cases, there were more criminals than victims in the group, and sometimes, everyone except the one target in the group was part of the scam team. Understandably, studying retail investors in the Chinese stock market (sanhu 散戶, literally meaning “scattered accounts”)...
Navigating Entrapment: Scams, Mistrust, and Speculation in the Social Life of Retail Stock Market Investors in China
Abstract
This article examines the interplay of mistrust, entrapment, and speculation in the social life of retail investors (sanhus) in China’s stock market. Through ethnographic research, it explores how sanhus navigate a financial landscape rife with scams, regulatory uncertainty, and institutional biases that favour powerful market actors. Far from being passive victims, these investors develop strategies to mitigate risk, leveraging mistrust as a tool for negotiation and survival. The stock market, often perceived as a “trap,” fosters a precarious sociality in which relationships remain tentative, and exchanges are framed by the anticipation of deception. Building on theories of financialisation and entrapment, this study highlights how sanhus’ engagement in the market extends beyond economic calculation, shaping their social interactions and perceptions of state intervention. The article contributes to anthropological discussions on mistrust, demonstrating its productive role in structuring financial participation and everyday social dynamics. By revealing how sanhus operate within and against a system designed to exploit them, this study challenges the notion of retail investors as irrational actors and instead highlights how navigating systemic constraints enables sanhus to form a social life of mistrust with vigilant and resilient tactics.
Index terms
Index by keyword:
economic anthropology, mistrust, entrapment, stock market, China, retail investorsEditor’s notes
Manuscript received on 16 October 2024. Accepted on 12 March 2025.
Excerpt
Full text document will be published online on March 2026.
Outline
First lines
References
Bibliographical reference
Hairuo Jin, “Navigating Entrapment: Scams, Mistrust, and Speculation in the Social Life of Retail Stock Market Investors in China”, China Perspectives, 140 | 2025, 65-74.
Electronic reference
Hairuo Jin, “Navigating Entrapment: Scams, Mistrust, and Speculation in the Social Life of Retail Stock Market Investors in China”, China Perspectives [Online], 140 | 2025, Online since 01 March 2026, connection on 18 April 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/18061; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/13pth
Top of pageCopyright
The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.
Top of page