Better business environment benefits all

A1 China has experienced a tremendous transformation and seen tremendous achievements over the past 70 years. The reform and opening-up has led to significant advancement in its socioeconomic development.

Citi first came to China in 1902 and became one of the first to locally incorporate in China in 2007. Citi has benefited greatly from the opening-up and reform of China's financial sector over the past few decades. We are fortunate to have achieved many market firsts, especially in areas that relate to promoting market development and in attracting foreign investment and capital, such as the Futures Margin Depository Bank license and Chinese local bond underwriter license. Citi is the only American bank that has full license/capability to serve foreign institutional investors access the China bond market from trade to settlement and custody.

A2 China is transitioning its economy from one that is export-driven, investment-led, and competing on cost of labor to one that is increasingly domestically focused and consumer-driven with growth in the services space. From our perspective, companies in China need us more now than ever given the complex issues that only a truly global bank can offer support on.

We have a strong track record in China. Our target market is aligned with our global strategy of supporting clients that benefit most from our global network across institutional and consumer banking.

A3 We welcome and applaud China's continuing efforts and commitment in protecting the legitimate interests of foreign companies. The Foreign Investment Law will help further enhance fair competition and create a stable, transparent and predictable market environment. We believe that both Citi China and our clients will benefit from it.

A4 This fits well with our ambition in China - to be a pre-eminent wealth management advisory foreign bank, with a digitized card offering led by lending. Our target customers are globally minded affluent individuals in China, who can get the most benefit from our products and services. Our comprehensive offering covers the diversified financial needs of our target customers in different stages of their lives, including wealth management, insurance, credit cards and mortgages. We plan to invest more in digital initiatives to help expand our distribution reach and take a bigger share of the wealth management business in China.

A5 China's efforts to enhance work efficiency will further attract foreign investment and be crucial in advancing economic development. We welcome any move that sustains steady economic growth. China is a priority market for Citi globally. We are committed to being a part of and supporting China's long-term sustainable development through serving a targeted and well-defined client group.