China Economic ReviewChina and the Association of South-east Asian Nations have signed a framework agreement to set up a comprehensive free trade area. The deal was agreed at Asean's meeting at Phnom Penh in November, which was attended by Premier Zhu Rongji. It is envisaged that the free trade area will be in place by 2010 but […]
The People's Bank of China has issued a new Yn5 banknote and a new 5 jiao coin on November 18. They are part of the fifth series of notes and coins to be issued since the People's Republic was established in 1949. The Yn5 note, which is purple in colour, carries a picture of Mount […]
Shanghai Gold Exchange was formally opened at the end of October, marking a key step in the liberalisation of China's gold market. The People's Bank of China, which had exercised centralised control of the metal, has now stopped selling gold and will soon also stop buying it. Business between the 108 members of the exchange […]
New rules that allow specially approved offshore investors to buy yuan-denominated A-shares were announced in early November. To be accepted as a qualified foreign institutional investor, a financial institution must have had a minimum of US$10bn in assets under management in its past financial year. Fund management companies must have had at least five years […]
The visit of President Jiang Zemin to the US in October appeared to have been a success, marking a significant decrease in tension between the two countries. In the course of his meetings with President George W Bush, Jiang secured an explicit commitment to the "One China" principle, by which the US recognises that Taiwan […]