Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has added to speculation that China may soon announce new rules that will allow foreign banks and insurance firms to increase their presence in China, as senior US officials arrived in Beijing for more trade talks.

"We are quickening the full opening of market access for foreign investors in banking, securities and insurance sectors," Mr Li said yesterday in a speech at the annual Boao Forum for Asia, an economic conference held on China's southern island of Hainan.

China is also offering foreign technology companies better access to the country's cloud-computing market, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Increased access to financial service markets is among a host of US demands for change from Beijing on trade policies and practices.

US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Chinese imports last year to force the changes, and Beijing retaliated with tariffs on US goods.

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