Wu Qing, chairman of China’s securities regulator, made it clear this year that he wants to open China’s capital markets wider than ever. The latest move is a significant expansion of the Stock Connect program, allowing foreign investors easier access to yuan-denominated stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs) listed in Hong Kong. This step is more than a technical tweak it’s Beijing’s strategic push to cement the yuan’s role as a global investment currency.
Stock Connect, running since 2014, acts like a financial pipeline linking mainland China’s huge equity market with Hong Kong’s international financial center. It has enabled foreign investors to buy mainland-listed shares via Hong Kong brokers and allowed mainland investors to buy Hong Kong shares. Now, adding yuan-denominated shares equities that trade in Chinese yuan instead of Hong Kong dollars alongside REITs marks a fresh phase. REITs have been growing in Hong Kong but were largely inaccessible to mainland investors through official channels until now. This expansion builds on Hong Kong’s 2023 introduction of a dual-counter trading scheme that lets certain stocks trade in both currencies on the same exchange, creating the technical backbone for this new cross-border access.
The numbers show the growing momentum behind Stock Connect. In February 2026, northbound trading, meaning foreign investors buying mainland equities, hit a record daily turnover of 302.7 billion yuan. This reflects increasing global appetite for Chinese assets as Beijing continues to widen market access. For investors, this opens up new opportunities in China’s yuan-denominated market and property-linked income vehicles that were previously hard to reach. It also signals how China is methodically building the infrastructure needed for the yuan to compete globally.
China’s financial landscape is evolving fast. This expansion follows other market moves like slowing export demand impacting manufacturing. As Beijing tightens its grip on capital market reforms, investors will be watching closely how these channels develop and what new flows emerge.
This content is informational and not financial advice.
