Banking

• The geographical restrictions on the renminbi services by foreign banks shall be eliminated. For foreign currency business, there will be no geographic restriction upon accession . For local currency business, the geographic restriction will be phased out as follows :

  • upon accession, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Dalian;

  • within one year after accession, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Nanjing and Wuhan;

  • within two years after accession, Jinan, Fuzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing;

  • within three years after accession, Kunming, Beijing and Xiamen;

  • within four years after accession, Shantou, Ningbo, Shenyang and Xi'an;

  • within five years after accession, all geographic restrictions will be removed, after which foreign banks will be permitted to conduct renminbi business nationwide .

• The restrictions on renminbi business clients of foreign banks shall be eliminated. For foreign currency business upon accession, foreign financial institutions will be permitted to provide services in China without restriction as to clients. For local currency business, within two years after accession, foreign financial institutions will be permitted to provide services to Chinese enterprises . Within five years after accession, foreign financial institutions will be permitted to provide services to all Chinese clients , which means that the renminbi retail business is open to foreign banks. Foreign financial institutions licensed for local currency business in one region of China may service clients in any other region that has been opened for such business. In addition, foreign banks and financial institutions are permitted to provide consumer credit for motor vehicles.