China to ease foreign-exchange rules, issue new QDII quota

2026.06.17 China will further simplify foreign-exchange procedures for outbound direct investment (ODI), external debt and other cross-border financing activities, while issuing a new batch of Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) quotas, the country's top foreign-exchange regulator said on June 17. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, Zhu Hexin, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said authorities would also streamline policies governing foreign-currency loans and cross-border equity incentive programs. China will support more flexible trade-related foreign-exchange settlement trials in Shanghai, launch a pilot program facilitating overseas investment of income from cross-border reinsurance business, and expand policies facilitating centralized fund management by multinational companies, Zhu said. The measures are aimed at strengthening Shanghai's role as an international financial center. Foreign investors currently hold more than $1 trillion worth of onshore Chinese stocks and bonds, Zhu said. Overseas investors held about $600 billion worth of onshore Chinese equities at the end of the first quarter. China will continue improving capital-account opening policies, support two-way cross-border capital flows and grant greater convenience to companies with sound operations and strong credit records, he said. Zhu added global innovation capital is increasingly being allocated to China, while the renminbi is offering global market participants more diversified currency options and risk-management tools, supported by its stable value, relatively low financing costs and an increasingly sophisticated payment and settlement network.