It may be disappointing that I'm not going to talk in this column about whether it's time to buy into China's stock market when the market looks cheap after a recent derating. I have to admit that, despite being one of the first journalists who began reporting on China's financial and stock markets more than two decades ago - when the Chinese stock market was set up - I have never bought a single share.
It has been 20 years since the birth of China's stock market, which has experienced wild ups and downs. Looking back, I think we should reflect on what kind of market it has developed into, what role it has played in China's economy and what we should do next.
Jiang Zhikang's foray into China's fledgling stock market in the early 1990s was not only risky but required great patience. "I lined up at the small trading counter for a whole night in order to buy the stock subscription certificates,?Jiang, 62, says. "I thought that owning stocks may be better than just putting my money in a bank account.?