Stock Connect heralds China's integration with the world

THE recent link-up between the stock exchanges of Shanghai and Hong Kong marks another milestone in China's drive to re-integrate with the international financial system and transform its currency into a global investment medium.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect is a key element in the bridgework being built between China's huge but relatively isolated domestic markets and international investors, and will become increasingly important as more supporting financial infrastructure is created.

Having grown at a breakneck pace for more than three decades, China's economy is now the second largest in the world. If measured using purchasing power parity, China's economic output has already surpassed that of the US.