China’s stabilisation pledge did not lift stocks. Why are investors praising it?

A slew of market-stabilising measures unveiled by the head of China’s securities regulator this week has won praise from investors, despite the fact that mainland stock prices did not roar back over the following days.

The focus on supporting stocks and investor confidence over the long term, rather than deploying contingency actions to deal with short-term market turmoil, signalled a much-needed shift in Beijing’s strategy, industry players said.

Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities...