[October 16, 2024] The A-shares have experienced significant volatility recently, and the stock commentary circle has also been turbulent. In response to the saying "a sharp rise is always followed by a sharp fall," former chief economist of Evergrande Group Ren Zeping and private equity tycoon, chairman of Eastern Bay Capital, Dan Bin, have been engaged in a heated debate online for several days. On October 15, the social media accounts of both Ren Zeping and Dan Bin were officially suspended.

According to reports from  and <21st Century Business Herald>, on October 15, Ren Zeping's WeChat public account "Zeping Macro" and its associated video account displayed messages stating "This public account cannot be followed due to violations" and "This account has been prohibited from being followed."

Ren Zeping's latest Weibo post was made on the evening of October 13, in which he mentioned that "boosting confidence in the private economy is very important at the moment" and stated that "central government fiscal spending will have an immediate and significant effect, leveraging a small amount to achieve great impact."

Previously, Ren Zeping had deleted all Weibo posts related to his online spat with Dan Bin and any posts concerning their significant performance declines. The remaining posts on his Weibo are mostly in line with official views. On October 10, he posted, "There are still views out there that are bearish on China. I believe the risks behind such views are significant."

At the same time, private equity tycoon Dan Bin's WeChat public account was also "prohibited from being followed."

Previously, Dan Bin, who used to post more than a dozen Weibo updates daily, has not posted any new updates after interacting with netizens on the morning of October 14.

In the early hours of October 14, Dan Bin once again responded to economist Ren Zeping's criticism of his performance, stating, "Ren Zeping disregards the facts, distorts the truth, and lacks even a bit of an economist's objective spirit! My 'exchange' with Mr. Ren ends here—those who are innocent will prove their innocence..." *The Epoch Times* reporters noticed that this Weibo post was deleted on October 15.

Additionally, Dan Bin revealed in his WeChat Moments that his Weibo account had been suspended for 15 days.

Previously, the Cyberspace Administration of China had already launched a crackdown on financial-related information from "self-media," claiming that these financial accounts were "distorting and misinterpreting" China's economic policies and "talking down the economy."

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China ("National Day"), the People's Bank of China announced a series of large-scale monetary stimulus and real estate market support measures starting on September 24, leading China's three major stock indices to rebound rapidly, reaching new highs not seen in months.

On October 2, while commenting on the surge in A-shares on Weibo, Dan Bin bluntly stated, "With such a sharp rise, there must be a sharp fall. If we get trapped again this time, all the mobilized forces will be in play... it will be a long time before we can recover." This remark sparked strong criticism from industry insiders and nationalist netizens, including Ren Zeping, who had previously been hired as Evergrande's chief economist.

On October 11, Ren Zeping posted on Weibo, stating that some recent bizarre views not only missed the market opportunity but also criticized China's economy and public policies at crucial moments. He referred to this as "eating China's food while smashing China's bowl" and warned, "Don't be a traitor." In the comments section of that post, some netizens speculated that Ren Zeping was "calling out" Dan Bin, saying things like "he's clashing with Mr. Dan" and "it's already been sent to Dan Bin."

On the morning of October 12, Dan Bin responded to Ren Zeping's comments, stating that as an economist, Ren should be rational and objective rather than using "conspiracy theories" and populism to try to divert attention. In the afternoon of October 12, Ren Zeping again posted on Weibo, criticizing Eastern Bay Capital's poor performance and urging certain individuals not to speak negatively about China's market.

According to Chinese media reports, the A-share market continued to rise until October 8, when sudden volatility occurred, followed by ongoing market fluctuations. On October 9, more than 5,000 stocks across the market fell, with over 3,000 dropping more than 9%, and 854 stocks hitting their limit down.

On October 11, the A-shares saw another broad-based decline. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by more than 2.5%, briefly losing the 3,200-point level, while the ChiNext Index plunged more than 5.5% at one point. Trading volumes on both exchanges significantly shrank. On October 15, the three major A-share indices collectively plunged. By the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index had fallen 2.53%, the Shenzhen Component Index had dropped 2.53%, and the ChiNext Index was down 3.22%.

Regarding the rare rise in A-shares, veteran Chinese capital market expert Xu Zhen told *The Epoch Times* that the Chinese authorities cannot save the stock market with policy alone. Based on the current situation of the economy and employment, there is no foundation for the stock market to improve. The performance of listed companies will continue to decline, which is insufficient to support stock prices staying high in the long run. 

Editor: Li Yuyuan.