Your statement is only partly true, mmsearch-ga,
Restrictions would only apply to Chinese in Mainland China, not to
other parts of China like Hong Kong. The more affluent Chinese are
able to get part of the capital to banks outside the Mainland, and
would also be able to hold credit cars. Most domestic credit cards
(see an example of the China Construction Bank) would only be allowed
for domestic purchases.
China has relaxed its restrictions for Chinese who travel abroad this
year and they can take up to 1,000 USD along. While Chinese tend to
prefer cash, credit cards companies are trying to encourage them to
use credit cards too for safety reasons. All international credit card
companies now have large operations in China, partly because of a
market that is already there domestically, but mostly because they
expect a much larger markets when the current restrictions for Chinese
nationals are eased.
For trade the story is different: all international transactions need
permission from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE),
but there would not be a relation with credit cards.
Avoiding the currency regulations is rampant, see for this some of the
articles from Chinabiz. The authorities try to regulate, but amazing
amounts of illegal capital float in and out the country, depending on
the expectations in the market.
Links:
http://www.ccb.cn/portal/en/long_card/credit_card.shtml
http://www.chinats.com/air/faq6.htm
http://www.visa.com.cn/zh_CN/index.shtml (in Chinese)
http://www24.americanexpress.com/china/en/aboutamex/corpinfo_amexinchina.asp?china_en_nav=TEXTLINK_PersMain
http://www.mastercard.com/cn/ (in Chinese)
http://www.chinaonline.com/refer/ministry_profiles/C00041154.asp
http://www.cbiz.cn/news/showarticle.asp?id=2051
http://www.cbiz.cn/news/showarticle.asp?id=1780
Seach terms:
Currency restrictions China
Credit cards China
State Administration Foreign Exchange China
Foreign Exchange China |
