The British government will today roll out the red carpet for Chinese banks looking to expand in London, offering to break down regulatory barriers to reinforce London’s position as a global renminbi hub.

英国政府今日将为有意在伦敦扩张的中资银行铺开红地毯，提出为强化伦敦作为人民币全球交易中心的地位，将解除一些监管障碍。

George Osborne, the chancellor, is expected to offer the prospect of special terms to China’s state-owned banks as part of his “personal mission” to make London a significant Chinese offshore banking centre.

预计英国财相乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)将提出，作为他推动伦敦成为中国一大离岸银行业务中心的“个人使命”的一部分，英方有望向中国国有银行提供特别待遇。

The chancellor signalled his intent yesterday in Beijing, when he said: “A great nation like China should have a global currency.” China, he said, should seek to develop the RMB “through the international centre of finance: London”.

奥斯本昨日在北京暗示了自己的意向。他说：“中国这样的大国应当拥有一种全球货币。”他表示，中国应当寻求“通过伦敦这个国际金融中心”发展人民币。

The City of London is already the world’s dominant centre for RMB foreign exchange trading, which amounted to a daily $5.3tn six months ago, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

伦敦金融城(City of London)已经是世界上首屈一指的人民币外汇交易中心。根据国际清算银行(Bank for International Settlements)的数据，人民币在汇市上的日交易量在6个月前已经达到5.3万亿美元。

Mr Osborne’s initiative set to be launched today, after talks with Chinese vice premier Ma Kai, responds to complaints from Beijing that regulators in London were making it hard for Chinese banks to expand.

英国财相针对中资银行的举措将在今日公布。此前他与中国副总理马凯会晤(见上图)，对北京方面有关伦敦监管机构使中资银行难以扩张的抱怨作出回应。

China’s three biggest banks have set up their European headquarters in Luxembourg in protest. But Mr Osborne will announce that the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority will offer discussions with leading Chinese banks with a view to letting them run wholesale operations through branches in London, a potentially significant breakthrough.

中国三大银行已将其欧洲总部设在卢森堡以示抗议。但奥斯本将宣布，英国审慎监管局(Prudential Regulation Authority)将提出与中国主要银行商讨，目的是让它们通过伦敦分行经营批发业务，此举将是潜在的重大突破。

Currently, at the behest of the PRA, Chinese banks in London operate largely as subsidiaries and are treated the same way as local banks – with tight standards on transparency, capital cushions and liquidity buffers.

按照审慎监管局的要求，目前在伦敦的中资银行基本上像子公司那样运营，受到和本土银行一样的对待，在透明度、资本缓冲和流动性缓冲方面均须遵守严格标准。

However, if state-owned banks such as Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China were to operate through branches, they would have access to the vast resources of their main operations in Beijing and would be largely subject to Chinese regulation. Branches are subject to lighter supervision by the PRA.

不过，如果中国银行(Bank of China)、中国工商银行(ICBC)、中国建设银行(CCB)和中国农业银行(AgBank)等中国国有银行能够通过分行开展经营，它们将能够获取北京总部的巨大资源，并将主要受中国方面的监管。英国审慎监管局对外资银行分行的监督比较宽松。

Mr Osborne’s offer risks irritating other international banks in London, where “subsidiarisation” has increasingly become the norm, as British regulators attempt to exert greater control over foreign-owned banks to make the system safer.

奥斯本的提议有可能惹恼在伦敦的其他海外银行。在伦敦，“子公司化”已日趋成为常态，因为英国监管者试图对外资银行施加更大控制，以提高整个体系的安全性。

But the chancellor, on an extended visit to China, believes that the gesture will be seen as proof that Britain is prepared to do whatever it takes to attract Chinese investment and business.

但是，正对中国进行为期一周的访问的奥斯本相信，这一姿态将被视为证据，证明英国愿意不遗余力地吸引中国投资和企业。

Yesterday he announced a simplification of visa procedures for Chinese tourists planning to come to Europe. He also hopes to use his trip to confirm Chinese investments in infrastructure projects and nuclear power.

昨日，他宣布对计划访问欧洲的中国游客简化签证申请程序。他还希望利用此行敲定中国方面对英国基础设施和核电建设项目的投资。

He said yesterday that 62 per cent of RMB payments outside mainland China and Hong Kong already took place in London, but he wants to build on that trade. A large proportion of trading is dominated by UK-based banks HSBC and Standard Chartered through their outposts in Hong Kong.

英国财相昨日表示，目前中国内地和香港以外进行的人民币支付中，62%已经在伦敦进行，但他希望在这个基础上进一步发展人民币交易。目前有很大一部分人民币离岸交易是由总部位于英国的汇丰(HSBC)和渣打(Standard Chartered)通过其香港业务主导的。

But no bank outside Asia yet has clearing authorisation, meaning that RMB ultimately has to be routed back to China.

但是，亚洲以外还没有一家银行获得人民币结算授权，这意味着最终仍必须让人民币回流中国。