Britain and China struck an accord on Monday allowing the two countries' companies to list on each other's stock exchanges, officials said. The agreement was reached by Britain's finance minister Alistair Darling and Chinese deputy premier Wang Qishan, they said.
"China agrees to allow qualified foreign companies including UK companies to list on its stock exchange through issuing shares or depository receipts in accordance with relevant prudential regulations," said a statement. British officials added that the accord means that Chinese firms will be able to list in London.
Darling, in a comment piece in The Times newspaper, said the two countries had to do more to push forward an agreement reached at last month's G20 summit in London, promote ties between the two financial markets, enhance trade links and tie future growth to environmental sustainability. "We must do more to seize the shared opportunities to learn, trade and invest," Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling wrote, ahead of the talks in London. "Thousands of jobs, now and in the future, depend on it."