State Council Relaxes Controls on Foreign Banks

China's State Council issued a notice on December 22, 2017 that it would end the so-called “waiting period” for foreign banks to do yuan-related business.

Before the notice was issued, foreign banks operating in China were not allowed to conduct yuan-related business until they had been in operation on the Chinese mainland for at least one year. They can now do so from the outset.

Analysts said the new policy is intended to attract foreign investment to China's financial sector and promote Chinese domestic banks to introduce foreign capital.