China announced on Friday that it will quintuple the transaction limit for foreigners' mobile payments as the country enhances efforts to address payment challenges faced by international visitors.

3月1日，中国宣布，将把外国人移动支付的交易限额提高五倍，以此来加大力度解决国际游客面临的支付难题。

Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said it will guide major payment institutions like Alipay to raise the single transaction limit of mobile payment for foreigners in China from $1,000 to $5,000 and lift the annual cumulative transaction limit from $10,000 to $50,000.

中国人民银行副行长张庆松表示，将指导支付宝等主要支付机构将外国人在华移动支付单笔交易限额从1000美元提高到5000美元，并提高年度累计交易限额从10,000美元到50,000美元。

Also to facilitate foreigners' mobile payments in China, Zhang said at a news conference on Friday that the central bank will support payment institutions to enable foreign users to more efficiently link their mobile payment accounts with foreign bank cards and streamline identity authentication procedures.

张庆松在周五的新闻发布会上表示，为了便利外国人在中国的移动支付，央行将推动支付应用允许外国用户将移动支付账户与外国银行卡关联，并简化身份认证程序。

The move comes as China intensifies efforts to tackle payment difficulties faced by some foreign visitors who rely on bank cards or cash for payment, whereas mobile payment prevails in China.

当下移动支付盛行，中国正在加大力度解决部分外国游客因依赖银行卡或现金支付所面临的支付困难。

The central bank has been addressing the issue by facilitating foreign visitors' bank card payments in large transactions, promoting their mobile payment via QR codes in small amounts, and guaranteeing cash payment as the last resort.

央行一直在致力于这一问题的解决，为外国游客大额交易银行卡支付提供便利，推广二维码小额移动支付，并保障现金支付作为最后手段。

Data from the central bank showed that nearly 4 million foreign visitors used mobile payment in China last year and made more than 70 million transactions with a total value of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.38 billion).

央行的数据显示，去年有近400万外国游客在中国使用移动支付，并进行了超过7000万笔交易，总价值超过100亿元人民币。

Zhang said a guideline, which was approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Feb 23 and will be published soon, promotes the acceptance of foreign bank cards, guarantees the use of cash, improves mobile payment convenience and optimizes account services.

张庆松表示，2月23日，中国国务院即将发布已批准的指导意见，推动境外银行卡受理，保障现金使用，提高移动支付便利性，优化账户服务。

He added that the PBOC, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will establish a cross-departmental collaboration mechanism to implement the guideline.

他补充道，中国人民银行将会同国家发展改革委、交通运输部、商务部、文化和旅游部建立跨部门协作机制，落实好《意见》。

Shi Zeyi, head of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's international exchange and cooperation bureau, said the country will continue to provide offline, manned ticketing services at tourist attractions and optimize foreign tourists' online and offline payment experiences.

文化和旅游部国际交流合作局局长石泽一表示，国家将继续在旅游景区提供线下人工售票服务，优化外国游客线上线下支付体验。

China's inbound tourism has recovered as the country saw 3.23 million inbound travelers during this year's Spring Festival holiday, the ministry's data showed.

旅游部数据显示，今年春节期间，中国入境旅游已恢复至323万人次。

Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said China's efforts to make mobile payment services more convenient will improve foreigners' experiences here as mobile payment has become a "daily necessity" in many cases. "This is also a sign that China is devoted to opening its market wider after the COVID-19 pandemic, providing the world with more business opportunities," Liu said.

中央财经大学副教授刘春生表示，移动支付在很多情况下已成为日常生活必需品，中国所做的努力将改善外国人在中国的体验。不难看出，新冠疫情以后，中国一直致力于扩大市场开放，为世界提供更多商机。

The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference, held in December, stressed the need to make it easy for foreigners to do business, study and travel in China.

12月召开的中央经济工作会议强调，要为外国人来华经商、留学、旅游提供便利。

quintuple 

英/kwɪnˈtjuː.pəl/ 美/kwɪnˈtuː.pəl/

v. 是原来的五倍

inbound travelers

入境旅游者