BlackRock is moving to beef up its understrength Chinese operations by approaching Tang Xiaodong, a veteran investor with experience on both sides of the Pacific, to run its operations on the mainland, according to people briefed on the move.

Until recently, China was not a top priority for BlackRock. At the end of last year, it had less than $430bn of its assets under management in Asia, down from $471bn at the end of the previous year, primarily as a result of outflows from China and market changes. The US fund manager had less than 7 per cent of its $6tn of total assets in Asia.

However, as China opens up its markets to foreign investors the region is becoming increasingly important for asset managers, including BlackRock. In the next four years, assets overseen by fund managers in Asia are expected to grow at a 12 per cent annual rate — or twice the rate of growth in the US — mainly driven by China.