President Xi Jinping talked about deepening traditional friendship between China and Italy while meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Beijing on Friday.
"Mr. President, you are welcome to pay a state visit to China once again after an interval of seven years. You are the Chinese people's old friend and also my good friend. In recent years, Mr. President and I have successfully exchanged visits, and remained in close communication through phone calls and correspondence. Every exchange could deepen our friendship and enhance our mutual trust," said Xi.
"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership. In July, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid a successful visit to China, when the two sides issued an action plan to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership, and agreed to uphold the time-honored Silk Road spirit to advance bilateral relations into a new stage of development. I believe that Mr. President's current visit will inject even stronger impetus to the development of China-Italy relations at a new historical starting point, and bring greater benefits to the people of the two countries," said Xi.
"This year also marks the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's death. As early as in the 13th century, this great Italian traveler could perceive and depict China without any prejudice, opening a door for the Western world to get to know about China, and inspiring generation after generation of friendly envoys to make outstanding contributions to exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations. The world today is undergoing great changes unseen in a century. As two ancient civilizations, China and Italy should carry forward their traditions of openness and inclusiveness, push the international community to resolve differences through dialogs and transcend conflicts with cooperation, and join hands in building a beautiful world of harmonious coexistence," said Xi.
President Xi on deepening friendship with Italy
President Xi on deepening friendship with Italy
China has intensified efforts to streamline payment options for foreign visitors this year, aimed at enhancing their travel experience and boost inbound tourism, which has seen steady growth in recent years.
From January to November, the number of foreign arrivals in China surged by 86.2 percent year on year, reaching 29.2 million.
This influx of tourists has been accompanied by a significant rise in the use of foreign payment methods.
In the first half of this year alone, transaction volumes of foreigners using overseas wallet apps to pay for goods and services in China increased more than sevenfold, according to data from NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, a Chinese online payment clearing house under the People's Bank of China.
During the same period, the number of foreign wallet transactions in China hit 28.75 million, up 5.29 times from the previous year. Meanwhile, transaction volume reached 5.32 billion yuan (about 729 million U.S. dollars), a 7.67-fold increase from last year's figures.
Overseas bank cards are now widely accepted across China, and Chinese mobile payment giants Alipay and WeChat Pay have integrated Visa and Mastercard, allowing foreign visitors to pay seamlessly like locals. "We managed to link our two credit cards to Alipay, and everything worked fine. We looked on the Internet, there are some blogs that explain how to create your Alipay account and how to link your credit card. We only paid with the QR code, almost did not use cash," said a foreign visitor.
"Our collaboration with Alipay and WeChat, is just the first start. Really what it enabled is our global network, our global consumer base, and our global partner network with all the financial institutions. And also another good example is we just announced in September that the Beijing subway can accept direct Mastercard payment. So, as an inbound traveler to Beijing, for them to take subway, they just need to tap their Mastercard at the gate and they can enter the subway," said Dennis Chang, president of Mastercard Greater China.
In September, Beijing's subway system launched a service allowing passengers to tap their Mastercard or Visa card at the gate, eliminating the need for physical tickets.
Since Sept 13, a total of 490 stations across the city's subway network have adopted this new system, further improving convenience for foreign visitors.
China expands payment options for int'l inbound tourists
