In a week when Washington has taken on trillions of dollars of liabilities in a spectacular government bail-out, Chinese investors are watching for signs that their government will intervene to prop up the Shanghai stock market, the world’s worst performing market.

So far, there is little sign that Beijing has imminent plans to buy shares in Shanghai, where the benchmark composite index has lost 65 per cent of its value since last October’s peak. The index closed on Wednesday at 2,150. Many investors consider 2,000 to be the next big psychological barrier for the market – and the government – so speculation about government intervention at that level is rampant.