U.S. system for a Chinese market

TEXT OF STORY

Doug Krizner: Lobbyists for the U.S. financial services industry are in China this week. They want greater access to the Chinese market. From Shanghai, Bill Marcus reports on the real attraction.

Bill Marcus: It’s access to $2 trillion in Chinese savings. Mattress money said one lobbyist.

Longtime attorney Lester Ross of Beijing firm Wilmer Hale says China has major structural problems masked by its booming stock markets.

Lester Ross: Americans would like to improve, help improve the Chinese system. And that means in part bringing to it more advanced experience, better management, better technology and so forth. But it also means a desire to help participate.

But that’ll be tough to do right now. China caps foreign investment in its banks at 20 percent. And the China Insurance Regulatory Commission wouldn’t even meet the Americans today.

In Shanghai, I’m Bill Marcus for Marketplace.