China: Finance and Banking

China's securities regulator has launched a comprehensive crackdown on illegal cross-border securities activities, raising critical questions about the legal boundaries between legitimate offshore brokerage services and prohibited domestic operations. When mainland Chinese investors voluntarily travel to Hong Kong to open securities accounts with licensed brokers, does this constitute illegal domestic business activity, and how do courts determine the validity of resulting margin financing agreements?

The People’s Bank of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”), the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly issued the Measures for the Administration of Online Marketing of Financial Products (“Online Marketing Measures” or “Measures”), which will take effect on 30 September 2026. The Online Marketing Measures are intended to regulate online marketing activities relating to financial products.

中国人民银行、工业和信息化部、国家市场监督管理总局、国家金融监督管理总局、中国证券监督管理委 员会(以下简称“中国证监会”)、国家知识产权局、国家互联网信息办公室、国家外汇管理局八部门联合 印发了《金融产品网络营销管理办法》(以下简称“《办法》”), 并将于 2026 年 9 月 30 日起施&