Apple is said to have reached an agreement with UnionPay to bring Apple Pay to China soon. The agreement would apparently see Apple Pay introduced through UnionPay's point-of-sale network. The deal will reportedly allow Apple to introduce its payment service into China as early as 2016, pending bank approval.
From Bloomberg:
Details of the agreement are yet to be finalized, pending feedback from banks that issue cards, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Shanghai-based UnionPay, the nation's largest payment and clearing network, aims to introduce Apple Pay as soon as next year, one of the people said.
Apple Pay has recently started expanding into countries beyond the United States. The service arrived in the U.K. in July, and is now available in Canada and Australia through Apple's partnership with American Express.
Source: Bloomberg