China's stock market has been overtaken as the world's second-biggest by Japan's, having been swiped this year by the threat of a trade war with the United States and slowing economic growth.
Data from Bloomberg News in intra-day trade on Friday showed the value of equities on the mainland had slipped behind those in their neighbouring country for the first time since taking the number-two spot in 2014.
The figures showed Chinese stocks were worth $6.09 trillion, compared with $6.17 trillion in Japan.
While global markets have been broadly hit by fears of a trade war between the world's top two economies, Chinese equities are among the worst performers this year, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumping more than 16 percent since the start of January.
