China Programme

The UK is home to many Chinese institutions with the City of London being home to over 50 of these Chinese institutions.

The City of London Corporation’s Trade and Investment – High Growth Markets team works with industry leaders, government partners and regulators to strengthen bilateral trade, open new market opportunities, and support sustainable, long-term growth.

Our China programme focuses on three priority workstreams:

1. Asset Management
   The UK is a global capital gateway—combining the right time zone, international language, world-class talent, and a thriving financial ecosystem. As the largest asset management hub outside the US, the UK manages more assets than France and Switzerland combined and is home to Europe’s biggest cluster of over 1,000 asset management firms. 
   
   We welcome and support Chinese investors looking to access the UK’s deep capital markets and world-class asset management expertise and equally encourage UK financial services firms to establish a presence in China. We actively support joint ventures that combine the strengths of both markets—bringing together UK innovation, governance, and global networks with China’s scale, market potential, and growth opportunities. These partnerships create new channels for capital, enhance market connectivity, and deliver long-term value for investors on both sides.
   
   
2. Green Finance
   The UK's world-wide reach in financial services ideally places it to build global partnerships in green and sustainable finance. With a longstanding, well – established reputation as a leader in sustainable finance the UK has a wealth of experience and expertise to draw on.

   Since 2017, the City of London Corporation has co-chaired the UK–China Green Finance Taskforce (GFT)—a flagship outcome of the UK–China Economic and Financial Dialogue—alongside Dr Ma Jun, Chairman of the China Green Finance Committee. The GFT facilitates alignment on net-zero standards and promotes practical cross-market cooperation.
   
   The GFT’s workstreams now cover transition finance, sustainability disclosures, and nature & biodiversity finance:

   • Transition Finance workstream: Channels capital toward transition activities and supports China’s decarbonization pathways. Co-chaired by HSBC and Bank of Communications
   • Sustainability disclosure workstream: Advances sustainable development in both nations by enhancing sustainability disclosure frameworks for financial institutions. Co-chaired by ICBC and CDP
   • Nature and Biodiversity Finance workstream: Integrates nature and biodiversity considerations across financial systems. Co-chaired by Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of China

   The taskforce is currently exploring closer UK-China engagement on voluntary carbon markets to advance global climate objectives

   The Taskforce also benefits from the insights of its Steering Committee, which consists of leading Chinese and UK financial service institutions, including:

   • Bank of China, Shanghai Stock Exchange, China International Capital Corporation, E-Fund
   • Standard Chartered Bank, London Stock Exchange, Schroders, Ninety-One
     
     
3. RMB business
   The UK is the world’s leading foreign exchange centre and the largest offshore RMB hub outside of Greater China. We work to expand RMB market connectivity and support innovative products that strengthen UK–China trade and investment. Our RMB initiative, launched in 2012, promotes London as a global RMB centre. In 2018, in partnership with the People’s Bank of China Representative Office for Europe, we established the London RMB Market Monitoring Working Group. This industry-led group (over 40 UK & Chinese financial institutions) publishes the London RMB Business report and works on enhancing market knowledge, developing new products, and deepening RMB business links between the UK and China.