To implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to expand opening-up and create a new landscape in all-around opening-up, the People's Bank of China (PBC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) have been steadily pressing ahead with the orderly opening-up of interbank bond markets in recent years. Foreign institutional investors now can invest in China's interbank bond markets directly or through the QFII program, the RQFII program and Bond Connect.

To further facilitate investments by foreign institutions and respond to high-level opening-up requirements, the PBC and the SAFE have developed the Circular on Further Facilitating Investments by Foreign Institutional Investors in Interbank Bond Markets. According to the circular, non-trading transfers will be allowed between bonds invested directly and bonds invested through the QFII or RQFII program by the same foreign investor, with direct transfers also allowed between corresponding capital accounts. Such investments by the same foreign investor through the above channels need to be filed only once. Furthermore, with approval from the State Council, the PBC and the SAFE have recently removed the restrictions on pilot countries and regions for the RQFII program, as well as on the quotas for QFIIs/RQFIIs. This shows that policies for foreign institutional investors on investing interbank markets through different channels are converged in principle.

These reform initiatives have further facilitated investments by foreign institutional investors and help boost the liberalization of China's financial markets in width and depth, and in turn fuel RMB internationalization. Next, the PBC and the SAFE will continue to introduce new initiatives for optimized management in accordance with the requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to support the high-level opening-up of financial markets. (The end)