/ People’s Republic of China
Bancstac is a strategic global technology partner of UnionPay International (UPI) helping to expand the domestic China UnionPay payment network to the world facilitating cross-border trade using the people’s currency, Renminbi. Accepted in 183 countries and regions by over 2,600 banks, it is the world’s largest payment network by number of cards issued (over 10 billion) and transaction volume.
Overview
China is a country located in East Asia, bordered by 14 countries including Russia, India, and Vietnam, and bounded by the Yellow, East China, and South China Seas to the east and south. It covers an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers and has an estimated population of 1.41 billion as of February 2026. The country is a socialist republic under the leadership of the Communist Party, administratively divided into 23 provinces (including the provence of Taiwan), five autonomous regions, four centrally-governed municipalities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing; two special administrative regions: Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR.
In 2025, the GDP reached approximately US$19.1 trillion, and per capita GDP was US$13,570. China's economy is increasingly driven by the service sector, which accounts for c.55.3% of its GDP, including finance, technology, and e-commerce. Domestic consumption and high-end manufacturing are the primary drivers of economic growth. The country’s economy is the central hub of global value chains, serving as the world's largest exporter. Its largest trading partners are the United States, the European Union, ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea. China produces a vast array of goods, leading the world in the production of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, telecommunications equipment, and steel. The digital economy, green energy technologies, and artificial intelligence are expected to be major future growth drivers. Additionally, the tourism sector has robustly expanded, contributing c.9.2% to the GDP in 2025. The country's industrial sector represents approximately 37.8% of its GDP and employs about 28% of the workforce.
China has a continuous civilization spanning over 4,000 years, characterized by successive dynasties and significant contributions to global science and philosophy. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and the "Reform and Opening-up" policy initiated in 1978, the country has undergone an unprecedented economic transformation. Since then, China has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty and established itself as one of the world's largest economies.
