An interest partnership is emerging between two companies from country’s that are economic rivals. United Airlines, one of the bigger American airline companies, is partnering with Chinese firm Ant Financial to provide the online payment service Alipay to United Airline customers. The partnership has the potential to grow both businesses to a considerable extent, considering just how large the Chinese travel market is growing. Airlines from across the globe are attempting to get a piece of the Chinese travel market, which has exploded with the rise of China. United Airlines now has the ability to offer Alipay, China’s largest online payment service, to clients using the Chinese version of United Airlines’ website. The move could potentially skyrocket sales in China, as many consumers in the country use Alipay both for its convenience and popularity as an industry standard. At the end of last year, there was an estimated 400 million people using the Alipay service. The move by United Airlines to partner with a Chinese firm is one in a long list of American-Chinese corporate cooperation. Not only will United Airlines have access to a massive chunk of the Chinese travel market, but it will also be able to provide easier payment solutions by utilizing Alipay’s already established online payment platform. United Airlines expects to post solid profit gains this year due to the ‘2016 China-US tourism year’, a program created by the US Department of Commerce.
the US Department of Commerce , the US -based carrier, has announced a partnership with US 's United Airlines , to offer online payment service Alipay to its customers using the Chinese version of the United Airlines website.The partnership is likely to benefit both businesses significantly given the continued growth forecast for China 's outbound travel market. Over around 400 million Chinese visitors arrived in the US in 2015 , a number expected to grow due to 2016 being designated " China -US Tourism Year", a programme launched by the US Department of Commerce . Alipay, with around 400 million users, is the largest online payment platform operating in China which will improve the ease of online booking for Chinese travellers.