2020 was a banner year in China for the biggest names of Wall Street.47 JPMorgan was looking forward to taking full control of a futures business in the Chinese markets. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley had taken majorities in their Chinese securities ventures. Citigroup was granted a coveted custodian license to act as a safekeeper of securities. In August, BlackRock was awarded the ultimate prize, a stand-alone, wholly owned mutual fund license that would allow it to compete for the right to manage the c. $27 trillion in financial assets held by Chinese households.48
