The UK has stepped up its efforts to attract Chinese investment by agreeing with Beijing to the creation of a renminbi clearing bank in London.

英国已加大吸引中国投资的努力，与北京方面达成了在伦敦设立一家人民币清算银行的协议。

The Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) are to sign an agreement on renminbi clearing and settlement in the UK capital on Monday. A designated clearing bank will be named “soon”, the UK Treasury said yesterday.

英国央行(Bank of England)和中国央行(PBoC)将于下周一签署伦敦人民币交易清算和结算协议。英国财政部昨日表示，将“很快”指定一家清算银行。

The change will allow investors to cut the risk from making overseas payments in the Chinese currency. It also burnishes London’s position as the global centre for foreign exchange trading as China’s rise shifts international financial flows.

此举将降低投资者用人民币进行海外支付的风险。随着中国的崛起改变国际资金流动格局，它也有助于增强伦敦作为全球外汇交易中心的地位。

Historically, economic links between China and Europe have been centred on trade, but as China’s wealth grows, and authorities move to liberalise currency and capital markets, financial centres in Europe are targeting investment.

中国与欧洲之间的经济往来传统上集中于贸易，但随着中国的财富不断增长，同时中国政府采取措施逐渐放开货币和资本市场，欧洲各金融中心开始关注中国的对外投资。

The UK is keen to defend its role as the main offshore renminbi trading centre outside Asia but faces competition from Frankfurt and Luxembourg.

英国热衷于巩固其作为亚洲以外主要人民币离岸交易中心的地位，但面临着法兰克福和卢森堡的竞争。

London – which has a 41 per cent share of the global foreign exchange market – already handles more than 60 per cent of renminbi trade outside China, according to payments provider Swift. This still amounts to only half the volumes traded in Hong Kong, but London is well-placed to increase its share as financial centres around the world jostle for position.

根据支付提供商Swift的数据，在全球外汇市场占41%份额的伦敦，目前处理着中国境外60%以上的人民币交易。尽管这仍仅相当于香港交易量的一半，但在世界各地金融中心抢占市场份额的竞争中，伦敦处于有利地位。

Until recently, the UK capital has relied on Hong Kong’s infrastructure for clearing offshore trade in the renminbi, an arrangement that means liquidity is much higher during the morning in London, when Asian markets are open.

直到不久以前，英国首都还依靠香港的基础设施对离岸交易的人民币进行清算，这种安排意味着，流动性在伦敦时间上午（亚洲市场尚未收盘）高得多。

In December, UK-based Standard Chartered signed an agreement with the Agricultural Bank of China to provide clearing and settlement services in London for the first time, but the new arrangement will have PBoC approval.

去年12月，总部位于英国的渣打(Standard Chartered)与中国农业银行(AgBank)达成协议，率先在伦敦推出人民币清算和结算服务，但新的安排将有中国央行的批准。

The Treasury’s statement cited George Osborne, UK chancellor, saying: “Of course, other western countries will follow, but London now has the critical mass of infrastructure, helping to put Britain at the front of the global race.”

英国财政部在声明中援引财政大臣乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)的话称：“其他西方国家当然会效仿，但是伦敦在基础设施方面已经达到临界质量，使英国置身于全球竞赛的前沿。”

Spencer Lake, global head of capital financing at HSBC, described the deal as a “positive step” on which the market could build.

汇丰(HSBC)环球资本融资主管利子琛(Spencer Lake)形容这份协议是“积极的一步”，市场将在此基础上得到发展。

Australia is also among the countries hoping its financial services industry will gain from China’s opening of capital markets, which Philip Lowe, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, described yesterday as having “the potential to create a seismic shift in the international monetary and financial landscape”.

澳大利亚也是希望其金融服务业获益于中国放开资本市场的国家之一。澳大利亚央行(Reserve Bank of Australia)副行长菲利普•罗伊(Philip Lowe)昨日称，中国放开资本市场之举具有“给国际货币和金融格局带来巨变的潜力”。

Last month, China Construction Bank launched a renminbi clearing service in Sydney while the Bank of China announced a new clearing arrangement in conjunction with the Australian Securities Exchange’s Austroclear system.

上月，中国建设银行(CCB)在悉尼推出人民币清算服务，而中国银行(Bank of China)宣布与澳大利亚证券交易所(Australian Securities Exchange)的Austroclear系统联手推出新的清算安排。