China UnionPay and American Express announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for both companies to explore the expansion of their current cooperative activities.

For the past several years, China UnionPay and American Express have reportedly cooperated within China where American Express Cards run on the China UnionPay network. This new agreement will establish working teams to develop potential new areas of cooperation between the two companies within China and in markets outside of China.

Established in 2002, China UnionPay is the bankcard association in China. As the pivotal role of China's bankcard industry, China UnionPay is responsible for operating the unified inter-bank clearing and settlement system in China and developing the international acceptance network for UnionPay cards.

Financial deals for this new deal have not been revealed.