We will continue to open capital markets for foreign investors

China’s top securities regulator said on Monday that the world’s second-largest economy would open its capital markets to foreign investors and engage in practical border co-ordination to regulate foreign-listed Chinese companies.
Global investors have been panicked for the past few months by waves of Chinese regulations targeting sectors ranging from technology to private education. The United States plans to remove non-compliant Chinese companies from the US stock market, causing concern.

“Transparent cooperation in the integrated development of global capital markets is an inevitable trend,” said Yi Huiman, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of China, at a conference organized by the World Trade Federation.

“China is considering additional measures, including expanding the relationship between the stock exchanges in China and Hong Kong and improving the plan to merge the Shanghai and London stock exchanges,” he said.

At the same time, he said, the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission would carry out “practical” cooperation in areas such as oversight of foreign-listed Chinese companies, cross-border accounting and law enforcement.

Without mentioning the name of the United States, the World Financial Centers “should facilitate cross-border funding.”

Yi’s speech came a day after Fang Xinghai, deputy chairman of the Commission regulating Chinese securities, made similar promises to further ease control of Chinese markets.

China said at a conference on Sunday that it would expand its channels to foreign capital to invest in Chinese stock and futures markets and facilitate the issuance of yuan-denominated bonds known as “panda bonds”.