Two people chat outside the headquarters of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on April 8. Photo: IC

The opening-up of China's banking and insurance sectors "is not swayed by external factors," an official from the nation's financial regulators said on Thursday. 

He spoke in response to a query whether the uncertainties of the China-US trade war would influence China's stance and approval pace for offshore financial institutions that seek to do business in the Chinese mainland. The question was raised at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

"We think that an open, active financial market is helpful for preventing and controlling risks. It is also good for enhancing the efficiency of the financial market," said Xiao Yuanqi, chief risk officer and spokesperson of the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. 

"But we are also taking relevant measures" against uncertainties surrounding the trade talks, Xiao said.

The China-US trade talks turned around in recent days, with the two countries' top leaders agreeing to restart negotiations when they met at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. But uncertainties persist over the outcome of the talks.

Such friction won't slow China's pace in its financial opening-up, Xiao said.

"We launched 12 measures for financial opening-up in May and 15 such measures last April. We will gradually roll out more measures as needed," he said.

On June 17, the Shanghai-London Stock Connect officially started. 

Xiao said China welcomes overseas institutions that have special products and management experience in niche markets, such as companies experienced in dealing with non-performing assets and wealth management. 


Newspaper headline: Nation’s banking, insurance opening-up process not driven by trade war: official