On June 12, Zhou Xiaoquan, executive deputy director of the Shanghai municipal
financial office, said Shanghai will reinforce its role as an open financial
hub, prioritize cross-border financial quality upgrades and offshore financial
innovation to better support outbound investment and Belt and Road cooperation.
First, the city will raise financial internationalization and further deepen
market linkages through Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect, Bond Connect and Swap
Connect, boost the influence of Shanghai indices and price benchmarks, and
launch more internationally oriented financial products and services. Second,
Shanghai will shore up cross-border financial infrastructure by continuing FX
business reform, steadily expanding pilots for integrated onshore–offshore
currency pools, widening FX hedging coverage, and enhancing reinsurance and
marine insurance underwriting capacity and services. Third, it will scale
offshore pilot effects by advancing comprehensive offshore trade finance reform
in the Lingang New Area, upgrading free‑trade offshore bond services, rolling
out small-scale additional offshore financial businesses, and building an
offshore financial system aligned with international financial centers.
