Some of Wall Street’s most powerful financial institutions are stepping up efforts to strike deals in China even as relations sour between Beijing and the US.

BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, last month received approval for a partnership with a state-owned bank in China. Days later, Vanguard, a rival asset manager, said it would relocate its regional headquarters to Shanghai, while Citigroup became the first US bank to receive a fund custody licence in the country. Details have also emerged of JPMorgan Chase’s plan to buy out its local partner in a Chinese funds business. 

The new moves come as Beijing takes steps towards the liberalisation of its vast but heavily protected capital markets. They show that, behind the bluster of US-China tensions in the lead up to November’s presidential election, the two countries are edging closer in financial services.