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Bloomberg
American Express Co cleared a key hurdle in its bid to accessing China’s $27 trillion payments market after the central bank accepted its application to start a bank card clearing business.
The People Bank of China made the announcement on its official Wechat account, without giving more details. The decision to accept the application signals that it’s moving closer to final approval.
AmEx in November 2018 became the first foreign company to win permission to start preparation for the business after forming a joint venture with LianLian, a Chinese fintech-services firm.
The latest move shows progress in US payment networks’ battle for access to mainland China, which has been a point of contention raised in the trade dispute with the US China announced Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington to sign the first phase of the trade deal with the US on January 15, confirming a ceremony announced by president Donald Trump.
China in June 2015 allowed foreign bank-card clearing providers to obtain licenses by setting up units or acquiring a local company, ending a monopoly by state-run China UnionPay Co.