The second China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) was held in Washington on May 22 and 23 when the two sides agreed to the following:

 

China will resume licensing securities companies in the second half of 2007, and before SED III, it will announce to gradually expand the business scope of qualified joint-venture securities companies to allow them to be engaged in securities brokerages, propriety trading and asset management; increase the total quota for Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFIIs) to $30 billion under the prerequisite of promoting its international balance of payment;

 

China will allow foreign incorporated banks qualified for yuan retail businesses to issue yuan bank cards that meet the operational and technical standards of its banking cards, and enjoy the same treatment as Chinese banks;

 

China will allow foreign property insurance companies to apply for conversions into subsidiaries. China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) will complete decisions on pending applications by August 1, 2007.

 

In energy and the environment, the US and China will strengthen cooperation in the following areas: advancing clean coal technology, aiming to develop up to 15 large-scale coal-mine methane capture projects in China, finalizing participation of China in the Government Steering Committee of the FutureGen project, providing policy incentives to abolish cost barriers to full commercialization of advanced coal technologies, advancing the research and development of carbon capture and storage technologies, and formulating a national low sulfur fuel policy for China.

 

An agreement to expand the existing bilateral aviation agreement that greatly increases the number of flights between the two countries, provides for full liberalization for cargo services as of 2011, and both sides agreed to commence negotiations in 2010 on an agreement and timetable for full liberalization of passenger travel.

 

(China Daily July 31, 2007)