The race to open the mainland Chinese market to Western auction houses took another turn today as Christie’s made this surprise (well, not entirely surprising) announcement:

Christie’s announces that it will hold auctions in Shanghai beginning autumn 2013, having become the first international fine art auction company to be granted a license to operate independently in mainland China.

The number of clients from mainland China bidding at Christie’s global auctions has doubled since 2008. This growing client base participates increasingly in Christie’s auction centers in London, New York, Hong Kong and Paris.

Steven P. Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Christie’s says, “This development makes Christie’s the first international auction house able to directly conduct auctions in China under its own brand, and will offer collectors a more direct access to our global network and expertise.”

The New York Times’s David Barboza offers this one other piece of information on the vague deal:

Christie’s has signed its own agreement with the city of Shanghai, and plans to hold its first auction this fall, though the company said the agreement restricted Christie’s from dealing in “cultural relics.” The company can operate throughout China, but will be based in Shanghai and pay taxes there.

Christie’s to be First Foreign Independent Auction House in China (NY Times)