China's mobile-payment users reach 583m in 2018

BEIJING - About 583 million people used mobile payment in China in 2018, up 10.7 percent over 2017, according to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

A total of 600 million people used online payment in 2018, up 13 percent year on year, said the statistical report from the CNNIC, published earlier this week.

When people shopped offline, they also preferred to use mobile wallets. About 67.2 percent of China's Internet users used mobile payments offline, up from 65.2 percent in 2017.

About 406 million people ordered food online, 18.2 percent up over 2017, 397 million of whom did it on mobiles, up 23.2 percent year on year.

China-based online payment platforms extended their business beyond the border. Alipay and WeChat pay, two leading ones, have been used in more than 40 foreign countries and regions respectively, while some Chinese firms launched local mobile wallets in nine Asian countries and regions.

China's Internet users totaled 829 million at the end of last year, up 7.3 percent from the previous year.