The Chinese government is getting a lesson on market timing. Just weeks ago, China’s new State Investment Company acquired just under 10 percent of the Blackstone Group at a discount of nearly 10 percent to its $31 initial public offering price. 

Arguably China’s most ambitious venture yet into American capitalism, the deal looked like a win-win — diversifying China’s massive foreign reserves while garnering Blackstone access to isolated Chinese markets. 

Not anymore. By midday today, Blackstones’s shares had lost 23 percent of their value since the IPO, sinking over 7 in the first hours of today’s trading alone, to reach $23.87. That makes Blackstone’s celebrated IPO one of this year’s worst performing U.S. stock flotations.

It also leaves that 10 percent discount looking less impressive – all-told Beijing is now 13 percent under water after only 5 weeks. The notion of Blackstone currying favor — or creating guanxi — for its Chinese ambitions may also have to be revisited: Do friends lose friends that much money that quickly?

Of course stakes gained by Blackstone insiders through the IPO arent looking much better, based on figures from a filing before the June debut and the $31.00 per unit offering price.

If they are looking at something similar, it’s no surprise that KKR may rethink its own IPO.