In China, 86 percent of people use mobile payments, as almost all people can use mobile phones and the mobile telecom signals are stable.

China is actively deploying 5G. Faster and better telecommunications networks will create new business models and growth opportunities for the world.

BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- In China, 86 percent of people use mobile payments. That's nearly 20 percent higher than the world's No.2 mobile payment user.

How has China become the world's No.1 mobile payment user?

According to PwC, China is the world's top user of mobile payments, followed by Thailand with 67 percent of its population using the technology.

China's mobile payment market is developing at a high speed and remains No.1 in the world. Mobile payment methods are changing China.

In many Chinese cities, even small vendors use mobile phones to trade. More and more Chinese people are going out without cash or credit cards.

Research shows that mobile payment methods can increase consumption frequency by more than 23 percent, therefore playing a big role in stimulating domestic demand.

Mobile payments are also helping new industries grow, including the unmanned retail industry and the QR code industry.

Why is mobile phone use so high in China?

The popularization of mobile payment is a result of the joint efforts of many sectors, including telecommunication, finance and security. But what is most important is that almost all people can use mobile phones and the mobile telecom signals are stable.

Between 1988 and 2018, the number of mobile phone users in China increased 520,000 times. In 2003, the number of mobile phone users in China surpassed the number of fixed-telephone users.

By 2018, the mobile penetration rate in China had reached 112.23 mobile phones per 100 people, which is above the global average.

To support the world's largest mobile phone network, China has established the world's largest mobile base station system. The capacity of mobile telephone exchanges soared from 37,000 in 1989 to 2,594,531,400 in 2018.

How are China's rural areas implementing mobile payment methods?

High-quality telecomm infrastructure is the foundation for a booming mobile payment market. In China's vast territory, there are many remote areas with low population density, while the construction, operation and maintenance of communications facilities is difficult and costly.

To address its mobile communications problems, China began implementing universal telecommunications services in 2004, led by the government and state-owned enterprises. Since 2015, central financial funds have led China's three largest state-owned telecom operators to invest more than 40 billion yuan.

Today, more than 98 percent of administrative villages in rural China have access to fiber optic networks and 4G networks. Even residents of Sichuan's "cliff village," one of China's poorest areas have access to 4G.

The world's largest telecommunications universal service project has transformed millions of Chinese villages with the Internet and mobile networks including by allowing people to trade with the world via mobile payments.

China is actively deploying 5G. In the future, every corner of China will have more convenient communication services. Faster and better telecommunications networks will also create new business models and growth opportunities. There will be even more unexpected developments in mobile payments in China in the future.■