China has been gradually opening up its capital market. Projects such as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program，which links share trading on the two stock markets，as well as the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect，and Bond Connect (a bond trading vehicle linking the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong) have been rolled out already and the Shanghai-London Stock Connect program will allow cross-trading between these two major markets. In order to find out what changes might emerge from these programs and how commercial banks might respond，China Forex interviewed Xu Ying，general manager of international business at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Shanghai Branch，Lin Lin，general manager of international finance at the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) Shanghai Branch，and Fang Min，general manager of international business at China Construction Bank (CCB) Shanghai Branch. Following are excerpts from the interview.

China Forex: The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect Program was launched in 2014，followed by the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program. More recently there have been preparations for the Shanghai-London Stock Connect program. What significance do you see for the banking sector from these initiatives?

Xu Ying: The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program was China's first channel for securities market trading linking stock exchanges on the mainland and Hong Kong. Eligible investors in mainland China were permitted to invest in Hong Kong-listed securities while Hong Kong and international investors were allowed to invest in Shanghai-listed A shares. The launch of the program meant that China had truly opened its stock market to the rest of the world. This built on the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) and the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII) programs which had permitted stock investments by means of a limited number of institutions.

Lin Lin: The significance of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program lies in three areas. Firstly，it has been an important part of China's effort to open its financial markets，and this has already resulted in significant benefits. Before the launch of the program，for example，the mainland stock markets were struggling. The Shanghai cross-border link，later followed by a similar platform for Shenzhen，has channeled Hong Kong support for blue chips on mainland stock exchanges.