Global payments giant Visa seek to get closer to the “electronic payments infrastructure” in China by becoming part of the 2016 US China Tourism Year and working with the Chinese state-run tourism bodies.

The tie-up was announced over the weekend, with Visa joining as a strategic partner of the initiative being run by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Launched at the end of February. 

Visa’s involvement includes a consumer-facing campaign targeted at its US-based cardholders under the “Beautiful China” tagline. It will also work with Brand USA on campaigns to attract Chinese visitors to the US.

In a B2B context, Visa is looking at the tie-up as a way to ramp up its presence as a payment provider in China. The press release specifically talks about trying to get “local merchants” in smaller Chinese cities to accept Visa “to make traveling and transacting easier for international travelers visiting China during the Tourism Year and beyond.”