I'm guessing it would be hard to arbitrage this because the chinese currency cannot easily be moved to gox?
If you are determined enough I guess you could fly over to HK or Russia (or any other jurisdiction where banks open accounts in CNY), open a CNY and USD accounts at a bank there and convert CNY<->USD as needed
Not sure if any exchange restrictions apply but certainly CNY bank accounts are available in at least two jurisdictions mentioned above.
Since the beginning of 2011 US citizens can open RMB accounts in person at the Bank of China, 2 in NY & 1 in LA, minimum of $500 - but you can't actually use it for anything except a savings account to then convert back in to US$ unfortunately
“Can I write checks in Chinese currency?” I asked.
“No, you cannot.”
“Can I withdraw Chinese currency?”
“No.”
“Can I go to Beijing and withdraw currency from my account there?”
“No.”
“Can I have a debit card and use it in Shanghai?”
“No.”
“Can I deposit currency in my account at the airport in Hong Kong on my way back to the states?”
“No.”
“Can I write checks in dollars?”
“No.”
“Can I send Yuan to the btcchina.com exchange & buy bitcoins with it & vice versa?”
“Oh sure, absolutely, WTF security - security we have an incident at counter number 2, taze this terrorist, take down - take down.”
“So what can I do?”
“You can deposit at minimum of $500 and it will be converted to RMB. If the value of the Chinese currency rises, your dollar account will increase in value. Then you can withdraw dollars. And it is insured by the FDIC.”
“Why would I want to open an account that I can’t really use?”
“Well, if the rate on your savings or money market account is barely zero percent and if the Chinese currency appreciates between 3% and 5% a year as it is expected to, then you can have a savings account at the Bank of China that yields you much more than any equivalent domestic American savings account with the same FDIC protection.”
