Dramatic steps to prop up the Chinese stock market were unveiled by Beijing on Thursday after a 70 per cent fall in stock prices since last October.

The stamp duty on stock purchases will be scrapped and government money will be used to buy shares to support the market, state media said. Beijing said Central Huijin, an arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, would buy into listed companies, including the state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and China Construction Bank.