A1 In recent years, China has fostered numerous notable policies that increase international investment and has implemented top-level initiatives such as the continuous internationalization of the renminbi, the financial industry's opening-up and efforts on cross-regional collaboration.
Mastercard is confident that the implementation of China's dual-circulation development pattern, which emphasizes further opening-up and the expansion of domestic consumption, will attract strategic attention from more foreign companies.
Based on its tremendous achievements in containing COVID-19, we also believe that China's future policies related to reviving inbound tourism and encouraging domestic transactions will continuously and effectively benefit Mastercard.
A2 The only sustainable growth is inclusive growth. As a company with a firm commitment to sustainability, Mastercard is dedicated to connecting people in China with "priceless" opportunities, and helping innovative and entrepreneurial Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises to emerge as "little giants".
In addition to improving our own environmental footprint, we're also leveraging the full scale of our business, technology and partnerships to seize opportunities emerging from China's green trends.
A3 Over the past year, the continuous advancement of our digital-first and multi-rail strategy has led to steady growth both in Mastercard's business strength and operational capability in China.
Last year, accelerating digitalization was a powerful driver for our China business, and we have celebrated significant growth in cross-border e-commerce and contactless payments.
Now, boosting domestic consumption is a clear economic priority in China, thus we anticipate an extension of last year's growth trajectory and look forward to promising growth results within this sector.
A4 Mastercard believes in the benefits from interaction between people and connecting communities. Last year, we enabled China Railway to accept international bankcards, helped Xiaomi to consolidate its overseas footprint, and partnered with Ant Group to streamline the facilitation of international travelers' transactions in China.
This year, building on these unremitting efforts, Mastercard is looking forward to better practicing "bringing in" by introducing top-class ideas, technologies, products and services to the Chinese market, while pursuing "going out" by helping Chinese partners expand their overseas presence and bringing the best of China to the outside world.