US officials pressed China on market access for Mastercard and Citigroup during bilateral meetings in Bangkok, amid broader efforts to open China's financial sector.
01Summary
- 01US Treasury Deputy Secretary Francis Brooke met officials from the People's Bank of China and finance ministry at G20 and IMF-World Bank meetings in Bangkok.
- 02Talks included market access for Mastercard, Visa and Citigroup, part of an agreement from the Trump-Xi meeting last month.
- 03China approved Visa to prepare a wholly owned domestic card-clearing business on 13 October, with up to one year to apply for a licence.
- 04Mastercard operates yuan payments via a joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing but seeks approval to operate independently.
- 05Citigroup, which wants a wholly owned securities licence, applied in late 2021 and plans to expand its China securities staff to about 100.
02Why it matters
This matters because further opening of China's financial sector could boost foreign investment and competition in payments and securities, affecting global financial firms' revenue and investors' confidence in Chinese assets.
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