Trading Based on Persistent STEP Messaging: a ‘Solid’ Step towards a More Open aChinese Stock Market

This paper introduces the evolution of the STEP protocol: the first Chinese securities information exchange standard, which is of full compatibility to the world de-facto FIX protocol and is officially issued in 2004. The challenges of applying STEP to the China's stock market are also described. We propose a practical solution to address these challenges. Some trading businesses on the Chinese market based on the solutions are also described. Finally, the future of the STEP and the prospects of its application are presented.