The London Stock Exchange and British officials are ramping up efforts to build a robust pipeline of Chinese firms, trading on London's status as Europe's deepest capital market. Edwards said he thought London was "an obvious choice" for many Chinese companies "given the issues around the U.S.-China relationship." However, the China-Switzerland Connect - an eight-month-old rival scheme - is gaining more traction among Chinese companies, partly due to a relatively easier process. The London Stock Exchange is "actively looking at how they can address some of the issues," Edwards said. Edwards said officials have identified hundreds of Chinese companies that could potentially issue GDRs in London and "are actively approaching them at the moment."

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