Beijing agreed to grant US firms greater access to its financial sector
as the US-China trade talks, which concluded in Washington on
Wednesday, were said to have delivered "tangible results," the South China
Morning Post reported. The agreements made will see China raise the quota for Qualified
Foreign Institutional Investors from US$10 to US$30 billion and allow foreign
securities firms to expand their activities in the country to cover broking, proprietary
trading and fund management. Foreign-invested banks, meanwhile, are to offer their own-brand, yuan-denominated credit and debit cards. There was also a commitment to enforcing intellectual
property rights laws and liberalizing air service rights. No progress was made on the key issue of Chinese currency
valuations.