According to the policy outcomes of the Ninth China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue released by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday, China and the United Kingdom agreed to accelerate the final preparations for the Shanghai-London Stock Connect and to review the timeline for its launch when conditions permit.
The mutual stock-market access between Shanghai and London is a platform that is similar to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, which are already in operation.
The stock connect mechanism is a cross-boundary investment channel that connects the Shanghai Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange. Through this channel investors of one stock market is able to trade shares on the other stock market.
The Shanghai-London Stock Connect was jointly advanced by the governments of China and the UK in 2015. The Chinese and British securities regulators have now completed their feasibility study, and the project is expected to come into operation next year.
The stock connect program aims to accelerate the opening-up of China's financial market, and is expected to be conducive to capital market cooperation between China and the UK.