Stocks' circuit breaker triggers call for changes

The 7-percent dive in the value of Chinese stocks on Monday, the first trading day of the year, triggered the new circuit breaker mechanism that also came into effect that day.

The fall may be largely a result of knee-jerk worries about the imminent end of a ban on sales of shares by listed companies' major shareholders, which was imposed during the market crash last summer.

But, more importantly, by reflecting domestic investors' growing fears about weak factory activity across the country, it also represents an urgent call for greater efforts to speed up structural reforms and improve the overall profitability of Chinese enterprises.