Starting September 1st, holders of cards issued by offshore banks will be able to withdraw cash in foreign currency in China, according to the regulatory authority.

This is one of the measures taken by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange for the convenience of foreign and domestic card holders in China.
 
Reports say offshore bank card holders will also be able to reconvert renminbi withdrawn in China back into foreign currency.

After September 1st, China bank card holders abroad will be entitled to withdraw up to 10,000 US dollars every six months.

Credit cards are now becoming popular in China. Some 2.6 million foreign currency cards were issued by Chinese banks last year in China.

Overseas transactions using the cards totaled 966 million US dollars that year, 47 percent more than in the first eleven months of 2002.

 (CRI July 17, 2004)