Overnight weakness in China resulted in the second trading halt of the week in that country's market. Circuit breakers were triggered after just 29 minutes — the shortest session it's ever had.
Is this a sign that China doesn't know how to manage its market? According to CNBC's Jim Cramer, that's exactly what it means.
"They obviously don't really know how to handle their own markets. Remember, they are playing it by ear," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. "You have to expect, unless they do something, it will be down 7 percent again, because you can't bounce. No market can bounce."
The Chinese economy, which is intensely monitored by regulators, may be restricting a market rebound — something that makes the market unattractive to Cramer.
"I don't trust anything about China," he said. "Again, [the communist government is] making it up as they go along. It is rather amazing to think that they had no clue, it seems, of what the circuit breakers would do in terms of the consciousness of the country.
If China doesn't take action, Cramer said Thursday night could match Wednesday night's lows in the market.
"I think that the Chinese ought to just sit down with, I don't know, Mary Jo White and say 'Hey, what do you guys do?' or they should sit down with the late Joe Kennedy," he said. "I mean, do they have any idea what they're doing? I think that's the biggest worry."
Cramer added that implementing more circuit breakers could backfire on the Chinese market.
"They've become a lightening rod for selling. It's time for the party to stop partying and start getting serious," he said.