According to reports, the city of Shenzhen would provide 30 million digital Chinese yuan (e-CNY) to local citizens in an effort to boost consumer spending.
The airdrop is a collaboration between Shenzhen and Meituan Dianping, China’s most popular meal delivery service.
According to the guidelines, users must first log in to the Meituan app, sign up for the incentive, and then enter a lottery to win e-CNY rewards.
The e-CNY is then given to users and can be spent at over 15,000 in-app merchant terminals that accept the state-owned digital currency if they choose to do so.
The People’s Bank of China had previously identified the e-CNY as a possible tool for promoting regional economies and increasing the efficiency of certain financial services.
Meanwhile, Meituan sources claim that the e-CNY is critical to increasing spending and rejuvenating local companies. Shenzhen is also one of three Chinese cities where people can use the e-CNY to pay municipal taxes and fees.
Unlike many other countries, China has adhered to a strict zero-COVID policy, which has resulted in the lockout and closure of non-essential firms in major financial centers like Shanghai.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang convened an emergency meeting with top Communist Party leaders on Wednesday to discuss the country’s COVID policy’s disastrous economic consequences.
From January to April, 20 of China’s 31 provinces offered “consumer spending incentives,” such as the latest e-CNY airdrop, in response to the country’s economic downturn.
