My Take | China should beware of the cost of creating a digital gap from the rest of the world
- Foreigners having trouble making mobile payments in China is just a trivial issue when it comes to the cost of its walled internet
- A digital gap can hurt global perception of China’s economic policy, the international expansion of its tech giants, and the nation’s AI progress
The problem can be fixed by technical improvements. In fact, major mobile payment service providers in China, including Ant Group and Tencent Holdings, have already taken steps to make it easier for foreign visitors to pay in the country.
(Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the Post.)
But the bigger issue in China is the desire to develop a walled online world, and the difficulty for foreigners to make payments is just one of the smaller negative consequences.
China has created an exuberant and unique digital world with tightly restricted access to the outside world. Most Chinese online services adhere to the state’s real-name registration requirement, making it a headache for visitors who have no Chinese identity cards or local phone numbers.
