Connect scheme for gold shines light on China’s financial liberalisation

When Hong Kong launched its latest Connect programme on July 7, most of the attention focused on gold. That misses the bigger story. Delivery Connect, part of the city’s new gold clearing and settlement system, is not simply another financial initiative but the latest evidence that Beijing has settled on a distinctive model for opening up China’s financial markets. Rather than embracing wholesale financial liberalisation, China is steadily integrating with global markets through carefully...

By Matteo Giovannini