UnionPay Featured at 23rd China-ASEAN Expo
On 17 September, the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo opened in Nanning, Guangxi. Dong Junfeng, Chairman of China UnionPay and UnionPay International, attended the event and participated in the China-ASEAN Financial Cooperation and Development Forum.
Centred on the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and marking the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, this year’s expo focuses on deepening the integration of artificial intelligence and the real economy. UnionPay is leveraging AI technology and connectivity to enhance the effectiveness of China-ASEvan economic and trade cooperation and to promote the development of a high-quality digital ecosystem.
Driving an AI-supported real economy to build new advantages for ASEAN digital and smart finance.
Utilising Guangxi’s position as a gateway to the ASEAN region, UnionPay is building an ‘AI + finance’ innovation hub characterised by integration within Guangxi, the provision of services to ASEAN, and broader reach across the Asia-Pacific. Ongoing collaborations include the development of ASEAN-oriented financial corporations for AI training, the assessment and testing of China-ASEAN financial services AI sharing networks, and the joint creation of a Guangxi alliance to combat telecommunications fraud.
Supported by internally developed AI-based risk control systems, UnionPay continues to strengthen cross-border risk governance. The implementation of enhanced Out-of-Band (OOB) authentication has resulted in a 90% reduction in fraud rates for pilot banks compared to pre-implementation levels. UnionPay is also collaborating with overseas terminal manufacturers to launch intelligent upgrades on their devices, effectively preventing cross-border payment risks and making cross-border financial services easier to use and more secure.
In line with the expo’s highlights, the UnionPay exhibition area also featured immersive experience zones for in-vehicle intelligent systems and smart glasses, demonstrating how the Agentic Payment Open Protocol (APOP) framework enables seamless service integration and AI-powered payments across various use cases. The presentation showcased the effectiveness of the financial AI product cycle, which begins with R&D in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, moves to integration in Guangxi, and ultimately concludes with deployment in ASEAN countries. The presentation also highlighted the innovative value of AI in supporting the real economy and enhancing the financial sector.
Connecting cross-border payment pathways to drive regional economic and trade integration.
This year’s expo also featured an area for supply and demand matching in AI-supported procurement. Focusing on three themes—“Procurement in China,” “Export to China,” and “Investment in China”—UnionPay continues to refine its payment service systems for ASEAN by strengthening economic and trade connectivity infrastructure.
UnionPay’s acceptance network has expanded to ten ASEAN countries, covering over 38 million QR merchants in the region. Contactless payment acceptance at POS terminals and ATMs, as well as local card issuance, are also widely available in these markets. Across various ASEAN nations, UnionPay is creating benchmarks for cross-border connectivity based on a model of inter-governmental cooperation. A key example is the China-Indonesia QR payment connectivity that commenced operations last June, bringing the number of overseas UnionPay QR merchants to over 46 million. Standard payment network interoperability and system integration have also been completed with many other ASEAN members. For instance, cooperation between China and Vietnam is being accelerated. System integration has ensured standardised harmonisation, allowing Chinese consumers to use their wallets in Vietnam, while work is underway to enable the acceptance of Vietnam-based wallets in China.
By building retail payment connectivity, UnionPay continues to expand its service offerings. To meet the needs arising from the cross-border expansion of companies and industrial chains, UnionPay utilises its self-developed integrated information service platform for cross-border B2B transactions to create digital payment solutions for emerging business models, such as cross-border e-commerce and aviation and hotel services, whilst empowering industry partners in the process.
Enhancing cross-border consumer services to unlock new AI-powered purchase use cases.
This year’s expo placed a strong focus on enhancing daily consumption. An “AI product market” was established for the first time to promote AI-driven cross-border consumer purchases. To meet the diverse needs of business travellers and consumers visiting China during their travel cycles—covering everything from transport and shopping to their final departure from the country—UnionPay has launched the Nihao China App, an intelligent and digital integrated cross-border service platform. This solution is designed to meet the needs of ASEAN businesses and consumers during the expo. Supporting easy registration using international mobile numbers and email addresses, the Nihao China App allows users to pay via Chinese QR codes without needing to link a Chinese bank card. The app provides multilingual assistance for high-frequency use cases in 27 languages, such as cross-border shopping, cultural tourism, transit, and daily purchases. The app also facilitates tax refunds upon departure by simplifying the process for tourists, completing the payment cycle with comprehensive intelligent services.