Chinese authorities have pledged to make it easier for foreigners to use payment apps and to reduce barriers for the private sector as part of their latest efforts to restore investor confidence. It was reported that the Chinese government has approved unspecified measures to make it easier for foreigners and elderly people to use payment services. In recent years the use of cash has declined sharply in favor of payment apps, but a number of legal barriers – a result of the country’s strict and complex foreign exchange controls – have made them difficult, if not impossible, for foreigners to use, with major providers being shut out of the system. These difficulties have been regularly cited by foreign business groups as a major factor in deterring visitors, with policy unpredictability and tighter national security checks also undermining China’s appeal to investors.
In July, WeChat Pay and Alipay, the two dominant mobile-payment providers, allowed overseas tourists to link credit or debit cards issued by Visa, Mastercard and some other major international operators to the apps. The change allowed overseas visitors without a Chinese bank account to pay with WeChat Pay and Alipay as locals would, including by registering with their real names. Alipay is owned by Ant Group and WeChat by Tencent. “We will continue to follow up and analyze the feedback from foreign users, and continue to optimize the product experience, so as to enhance the convenience of foreign users using mobile payments in China”, said a representative of WeChat Pay.
The Chinese authorities have made it a priority to restore confidence in the private sector and among foreign investors as part of efforts to boost economic recovery. The Chinese government said in a statement: “Foreign investment is an important force for the development and prosperity of China’s and the global economy. Stabilizing foreign investment should be a focus of this year’s economic work.” It also pledged to widen market access, further level the playing field and help boost innovations to “consolidate the confidence of foreign investors in developing in China”.
China’s top prosecutors’ office also launched a 10-month campaign to improve the legal environment for private companies. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) said the measures would include a crackdown on corruption and crimes that undermine fair competition, better protection for property rights, greater discretion in the prosecution of business leaders and moves to tackle shell companies used for illegal activities such as fraud or tax evasion.
Premier Li Qiang will unveil the country’s annual growth targets at next month’s meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), where the main policy measures are expected to include moves to tackle deflationary risks, stabilize the property market and boost market sentiment. Fixed-asset investment by the private sector contracted year-on-year by 0.4% in 2023, in sharp contrast with a rise of 6.4% of state-sector investments, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Foreign investors have turned to other markets in the past year, pushing the country’s annual net receipt of foreign direct investment (FDI) to a 30-year low in 2023, according to official figures. The Ministry of Commerce said that China attracted CNY112.7 billion in FDI in January, down 11.7% year-on-year, the South China Morning Post reports.
