BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks opened lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 2.78 percent to open at 3,172.77 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened 3.37 percent lower at 10,511.16 points. The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, was down 3.60 percent to open at 1,751.74 points.