“Technical obstacles have so far prevented us from realizing Stock Connect’s full potential,” Alder said in a speech in May last year.
He pointed to the Memorandum of Understanding being developed between the FCA and China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration as “critical to provide the mechanisms needed to share information swiftly, supervise firms effectively across borders, and promote market openness,” with “fast and efficient exchange of data [being] vital to manage the risks.”
“The goods wins are easier,” said the senior business representative. “Some of the service ones are more difficult. The issues that financial services firms have in China [are] around access to sensitive data and the transfer of money.”
The U.K. also hopes to be the latest country to join China’s visa-free list, which would enable British citizens to travel for short-term business trips, exchanges, or holidays without applying for a visa.
There are 48 countries currently on the list, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Sweden.
The Treasury, Department for Business and Trade and FCA did not respond to a request for comment.