The wager was supposed to be a no-brainer. China was reopening after nearly three years of pandemic lockdowns, and investors expected that its economy, the world’s second-largest, would come roaring back to life. Chinese stocks soared.But that bet has soured. This week, Chinese stocks that are traded in Hong Kong sank briefly into a bear market, after losing more than 20 percent of their value from a high in January. Stocks on the mainland are also in the red for the year.The declines reflect a fizzling optimism in the viability of the post-Covid recovery in China, which has long been a driver of global growth. Despite the continuing geopolitical tensions between China and the U …
