If retail investors -- who are central to personal spending -- are getting wiped out by the stock market rout and won't be able to buy anything," China's efforts to transition to a consumer-led economy are at risk, said Tatsushi Maeno, head of Japanese equities at Pinebridge Investments Japan. "If Chinese consumers stop spending, then all the products the world sells to them will no longer be bought, and that could impact the fundamentals of the global economy.