U.S. officials seek expanded China market access for Mastercard and Citigroup

U.S. Treasury officials met with representatives from the People’s Bank of China and China’s finance ministry in Bangkok to discuss market access for American financial institutions. The discussions, held on the sidelines of G20 and IMF/World Bank meetings, focused on implementing agreements reached during recent high-level diplomatic visits between the U.S. and China.

Key topics included expanding the presence of Mastercard, Visa, and Citigroup within the Chinese market. While China has gradually eased ownership restrictions in sectors like securities and fund management since 2018, state-backed firms still dominate the payments industry and cross-border capital flows remain restricted.

Following a recent approval allowing Visa to prepare for a wholly owned domestic card-clearing business, the talks aimed to advance similar progress for other firms. Citigroup is reportedly expanding its Chinese workforce and seeking a full securities license to conduct brokerage, underwriting, and research activities within the country.