Christie's said Tuesday it will be the first international auction house to operate without a local partner in mainland China, one of the world's biggest art markets. 
 
 The company said that it won a license to hold auctions in Shanghai beginning this fall. 
 
 Christie's and other auction houses have been reaping big profits from twice-yearly sales in Hong Kong, a former British colony that's now a special administrative region of China. Wealthy mainland Chinese collectors are a regular fixture at the sales and their purchases of art, jewelry, wine and other collectables have helped turn the city into one of the world's biggest auction centers. 
 
 But the foreign auction houses are eager to break into the mainland Chinese market so they can better target buyers. 
 
 CEO Steven Murphy said in a statement that the license means Christie's will be "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,". 
 
 "Now Christie's will be able to engage with our clients in Shanghai in the same way that we have done over many years in London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong," he added. 
 
 Christie's announcement outdoes its rival Sotheby's, which last year set up a Chinese joint venture with local state-owned company Beijing GeHua Art Co. 
 
 Chinese auction houses have also stepped up the battle for the Asian art market by expanding out of the mainland. Beijing Poly International and China Guardian, the country's two biggest auction houses, held sales in Hong Kong for the first time last fall, going head-to-head with Christie's, Sotheby's and smaller houses from around the world. 
 
 China became the world's biggest art market in 2011 but slipped back behind the United States to second place last year with total sales of 10.6 billion euros ($13.8 billion) as the economy cooled, according to an annual report by The European Annual Fine Art Foundation. 
 
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 Online: http://www.christies.com/ 

 Last year Sotheby’s formed a joint venture in Beijing with the state-owned Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group to hold auctions in China. Sotheby’s is the 80 percent owner of that enterprise. 
 
 Now Christie’s has signed its own agreement with the City of Shanghai and plans to hold its first auction this fall, although the company said the agreement restricted it from dealing in “cultural relics.” The company can operate throughout China but will be based in Shanghai and pay taxes there. 
 
 In a statement Steven P. Murphy, Christie’s chief executive, emphasized how important China is to the auction house’s future. 
 
 “In recent years we have seen phenomenal developments take place in the global art market, particularly in China, where the market has grown at an unprecedented rate,” he said. “Today’s announcement further solidifies Christie’s position and commitment in a market which possesses a strong heritage and deep appreciation of art.” 
 
 Last year revenue in China’s auction market was estimated at more than $4 billion, down sharply from $9 billion in 2011, when the market was blistering hot. Auction revenue in the United States market was estimated at more than $3 billion in 2012.
– One more sign that China has a growing class of rich people ready to spend money: Christie's has been granted permission to become the first independent foreign auction house in the country, the New York Times reports. The company's first auction will occur in Shanghai this fall. It's a big coup for the auction house, as Chinese collectors have been dropping huge sums lately in worldwide auctions, the Times notes. Christie's will be allowed to operate all over the country, but it says it can't sell "cultural relics" under the agreement. Sotheby's began operating in China last year in a collaboration with a state-owned company. The country's art market "has grown at an unprecedented rate," says Christie's CEO. That market is down from 2011, however, when it was the world's biggest, the AP reports. That year, it saw $9.3 billion in revenues; last year, the figure was $4.5 billion.