Snow urges Chinese market reforms

Speaking in Beijing, US treasury secretary John Snow said China needed to further liberalize its financial services sector by permitting foreign securities firms to form wholly-owned subsidiaries as well as by expanding the scope of products such firms can offer clients, state media reported. Speaking to the Securities Industry Association of China as his one-week visit to China drew to a close, Snow said it was clear that China was now committed to a more flexible currency regime. Chinese Securities regulator Shang Fulin, speaking shortly after Snow, said that China was committed to opening its markets but that gradualism was the safest approach.