China sets timetable to remove foreign ownership caps on financial firms

Donald Trump isn’t the only leader with a sense of drama.

The timing of China’s announcement that it will remove foreign ownership caps on financial services firms next year is no accident. It arrives as the climactic day of trade talks is about to get under way in Washington, and presents a challenge to the US president’s efforts to limit portfolio flows to his geopolitical rival. Just as the US is telling Americans not to invest in China, President Xi Jinping is welcoming them with open arms. 

Certainly, China’s offer is tempting. The biggest online brokerages in the US are entering a