As Beijing tries to court international investors in the midst of heightened geopolitical tensions, a senior currency regulator stated on Friday that China will facilitate money movements in and out of the nation and advance financial market liberalisation.

“We will steadily push forward two-way capital market opening, and strengthen the connectivity between domestic and overseas financial markets,” Xu Zhibin, deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said at the annual Boao forum for Asia.

“We will expand the variety and scope of investments to attract more investors to invest in China’s financial markets.”

In addition, Xu pledged to assist reputable Chinese firms in selling bonds and shares on foreign exchanges and to prod institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds to make offshore investments “in an orderly manner.”

Over the past few years, a number of foreign investors have shifted their portfolios or exited the Chinese market due to worries about the country’s policies, economic standing, and Sino-US relations.

Meanwhile, due to increased government scrutiny of national and data security from both China and the West, the number of Chinese companies listed outside has plummeted.

(Adapted from TheStandard.com.hk)