China’s stock market has been on a wild ride this past month. Amid slumping consumer confidence, stocks briefly crashed in mid-March before experiencing a record rebound after Beijing intervened with promises of market-friendly policies. Main indices still closed this quarter with record losses.  A number of factors are at play, including China’s ongoing battle to contain the Omicron variant, which has seen major cities including Shenzhen and Shanghai go into lockdown at different points this past month. Investors are also jittery over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, given concerns about whether China could face the kind of economic isolation that has crippled Russia’s economy. Recent data shows that global investors have been pulling money out of China at an unprecedented rate since the invasion. The market turbulence comes at a precarious moment for China politically, as Xi Jinping angles for an unprecedented third term as China’s leader at the upcoming Party Congr