China will not impose tough licensing restrictions on overseas bank card providers seeking to enter the country’s $7 trillion card payment market, a senior central bank official said on Tuesday. Industry sources told Reuters in October that they were concerned the Chinese government would limit the number of licenses issued to foreign card providers and force them to operate through joint ventures with local partners. “We will actively and cautiously open up China’s card payment market according to laws and regulations, and encourage fair competition,” Fan said.