The Chinese government granted the first forex license to a Hong Kong-based brokerage, the Chinese Forex Trading Center reported earlier this week. The broker is now allowed to enter the interbank forex trading market and carry out “spot FX, futures and swap currency trading operations.” The people from mainland China can trade with the broker without having a Hong Kong bank account with HKD in it. Earlier this year there were serious concerns that the Chinese authorities are about to crack down on illegal brokers, offering leveraged forex trading services to local customers. They have also banned crypto-currency trading in the country. It turns out, however, that they're trying to liberalize their financial market.
So they banned foreign bucketshops to make way for their own home-grown bucketshops? I guess they saw the profitability. LOL
Many forex brokers like Pepperstone has been in China for years. Like many things in China, a lot of things are "illegal" technically but never enforced. Smoking is illegal in restaurants but you won't find any low end/local eats without someone smoking in there, sometimes police themselves.
Thus, the Chinese government will somehow take control of the brokers. And as I know the cryptocurrency system is already allowed in China and is moving quite deeply.