Securities clearing and settlement in China: markets, infrastructures and policy-making

China is taking a more active role on the world stage, even more so since its rapid and strong recovery from the global recession. In the financial realm this expansion is underpinned by a strategy to build strong and competitive capital markets at home. In order to achieve this goal, well-functioning and sound securities infrastructures are an important pre-requisite, and therefore they receive a lot of attention from Chinese policy-makers, as well as from market participants both in China and abroad. This paper evaluates the current market infrastructure, including the legal and regulatory framework, for securities trading, clearing and settlement in mainland China, and analyses the policy-making in this field. The paper finds that, following huge progress in recent years, the post-trading processes are increasingly safe and efficient. It concludes that, given the effectiveness of the policy process, Chinese clearing and settlement are likely to develop into the “modern financial support systems” which the authorities envisage, and which will also be increasingly connected and integrated with other securities markets of global importance.