The US Federal Reserve has given the go-ahead for state-owned Chinese banks to enter the US banking market. The US central bank yesterday approved an application by China's biggest bank – the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – to buy an 80 percent stake in the US branch of the Bank of East Asia. It is the first time a Chinese state-controlled company has been approved to acquire a US bank. This comes just days after high-level economic talks between the US and China in Beijing. The Federal Reserve also allowed two other Chinese financial institutions to increase their presence in the US.