President Donald Trump has reportedly pushed for broader access to China's financial market for U.S. credit card companies. During talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump raised concerns about the limited access these companies face in China's credit card market.

“I said, ‘What about letting Visa?'” Trump said during an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News on Thursday. The President highlighted Visa Inc. (V)'s significant market presence and questioned its exclusion from China, expressing optimism for a potential change. “For some reason, they were blackballed, and maybe that will come off,” Trump said.

“We had the head of Visa there today, by the way. Visa is a big deal,” he added.

Visa CEO Ryan McInerney joined about 30 U.S. business executives in Trump's delegation during the state visit to China. This initiative is part of Trump's wider efforts to facilitate China's market accessibility for U.S. businesses, a crucial aspect of the ongoing trade negotiations between the two nations.

US Payment Giants Push Into China

Access for U.S. payment networks to China's vast payments market has been a longstanding issue in U.S.-China trade tensions. In 2015, China announced rules allowing foreign bank-card clearing firms to enter its domestic payments market, ending the long-standing monopoly of state-owned China UnionPay Co.

In 2020, American Express (AXP) secured approval to launch bank card clearing operations in China. Three years later, China greenlighted Mastercard Inc. (MA) to clear domestic yuan-denominated bank-card transactions in the country through its joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing Corporation (NUCC).

In 2024, Mastercard expanded its cross-border remittance capabilities by partnering with Alipay, a mobile payments powerhouse affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA). This partnership enabled Mastercard to tap into Alipay's vast consumer base of over a billion people in China, marking a significant expansion of Mastercard's existing relationship with Alipay.