China moves to strengthen financial ties to Japan in face of US trade war threat
East Asian neighbours try to overcome legacy of mistrust by unveiling plans to improve links between their economies
China and Japan have moved to strengthen their financial ties with each other amid the looming threat of a trade war with the United States.
The two countries have been working to improve relations despite their ongoing territorial disputes and historic disagreements.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is visiting Japan, announced three measures to boost links between the two economies: allowing Japanese investors to buy up to 200 billion yuan (US$31.4 billion) worth of securities in Chinese onshore markets, resuming talks over a halted bilateral currency swap deal and licensing a bank in Tokyo as a yuan clearing bank.
Li told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that relations between the two countries are “at a crucial stage”, adding that the two neighbours should be partners rather than foes.
Li also used the meeting to unveil a Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) scheme, which allows the use of offshore yuan to buy Chinese stocks, bonds and other assets worth up to 200 billion yuan.