US presses China on Mastercard, Citigroup market access in Bangkok talks

US Treasury officials pressed Chinese counterparts on market access for Mastercard and Citigroup during at least two bilateral meetings in Bangkok this week, according to a Treasury official.

The Treasury delegation, led by Deputy Secretary Francis Brooke, met officials from the People's Bank of China and China's finance ministry on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance meetings and the IMF-World Bank annual gathering, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe closed-door discussions.

The talks covered market access for US companies including Mastercard, Visa and Citigroup. Regulatory approval formed part of the agreement reached when Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met during Xi's state visit to Washington last month, the official said, and the Bangkok sessions continued work on putting those deals into effect.

Visa cleared to prepare

The discussions follow China's approval on Oct. 13 for Visa to begin preparing a wholly owned domestic card-clearing business. Visa has up to a year to prepare before it applies for an operating licence, the PBOC has said.

China has opened much of its financial sector to foreign firms since 2018, gradually lifting foreign ownership caps in areas such as securities, futures and fund management. It still limits cross-border capital flows, and state-backed domestic players remain dominant in payments.

Mastercard currently handles yuan card payments in China through a joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing Corp. that began operating in 2024. The pending approval would allow it to operate as an independent entity, the person said.

Citigroup seeks securities licence

Citigroup, which has hired several dozen employees for its China unit, is seeking a wholly owned securities licence to conduct A-share brokerage, underwriting, research and principal trading in the onshore market, according to two people familiar with the industry who spoke anonymously. One of them said the bank plans to increase its China securities staff to about 100. Citigroup applied in late 2021, and Reuters reported last month that approval could come soon.

The PBOC, China's National Financial Regulatory Administration, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Chinese embassies in Singapore and Thailand, the US Treasury Department press office and Visa did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Citigroup and Mastercard declined to comment.

Trump and Xi are expected to meet in person for the third time this year at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in November.

Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group, said the move suggests the US-China trade environment remains benign and that Beijing is keen to keep up the momentum. Licensing US financial firms is a "limited concession" on market access, she said, though it signals China is continuing to open up and "should marginally bolster investor confidence in Chinese assets."

Source: CNBC.