In the first half of 2026, China's largest brokerages — Citic Securities, CICC, and Guotai Haitong — posted dramatic gains in overseas revenue, with international arms growing faster than their domestic counterparts. The movement is neither accidental nor purely market-driven: Beijing has deliberately cultivated investment banks capable of competing on the world stage, and the firms are answering that call with billions in fresh capital deployed across Asia, Europe, and beyond. What unfolds here is an old story wearing new clothes — a rising economic power projecting its financial institutions