«We are preparing to make important efforts in Switzerland going forward and we believe that the first batch of the trial will succeed this year,» Cai Jianchun, Shanghai exchange’s general manager, said during a panel discussion at the Boao Forum in Hainan.

Although he did not further elaborate on the statement, his remarks were widely viewed as a follow-up to a 2019 memorandum of understanding between the Shanghai and Swiss bourses. The two countries agreed to study the feasibility of listing securities like global depository receipts – GDRs – on each other’s markets.

Deepening Ties

Notable figures in attendance at the forum included the deputy chiefs of China’s stock market and foreign exchange regulator. Finance ties between the two countries run deep: banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or ICBC, and China Construction Bank have set up offices in Switzerland.

Swiss bankers and diplomats have sought to deepen bilateral relations in the areas of stock market trading, sustainable financial services, asset management, and digital central bank money. 

Diversified Financing

If successful, the Swiss link would mark the third cross-border stock program China has launched alongside its Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shanghai-London Stock Connect schemes. 

Growing tensions with the west have led mainland firms to diversify their sources of finance, most notably away from the U.S. where regulators are implementing rules to delist companies that fail to meet accounting standards – a move widely viewed as targeting China.

Similarly in the U.K., political frictions have limited the success of the Shanghai-London link, with just $6 billion of GDRs sold since 2019.