Alipay, one of China's most widely used digital wallets, is testing a new social networking feature in its latest attempt to take on WeChat, the country's leading messaging app.

我国应用最广的数字钱包之一支付宝正在测试一项新的社交网络功能，这是其试图与国内领先移动通讯应用微信抗衡的最新举措。

The mobile payment tool, run by Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate¹ of Alibaba Group, rolled out the new service that allows some of its users to stay updated on topics of interest to them and get in touch with people who share these interests online.

支付宝是阿里巴巴集团旗下的蚂蚁金融服务集团运营的移动支付工具，其推出的这项新服务使部分用户能获得自己感兴趣的话题的最新动态，并接触到有着相同兴趣的网友。

Alipay said in a statement last Monday that the service, named Quanzi, or Circle in English, is designed to build real-name online communities via the company's big-data enabled credit rating system.

支付宝上周一在声明中称，这项名为"圈子"的服务旨在打造基于大数据的信用分级系统的实名在线社区。

"Trust is the key issue in the social networking scene among strangers in China. Anyone in Quanzi is using their real name and their online credit scores can also be checked for reference," said Alipay.

支付宝方面表示：“在中国社交网络中，陌生人之间的信任问题最为关键。所有人在“圈子”中都是用自己的真实姓名，他们的在线信用评分也可以查看以供参考。”

The move is seen by analysts² as Alibaba's latest effort in social networking, an area in which its rival Tencent Holdings Ltd does particularly well, with WeChat, its mobile messaging app with more than 800 million users.

这一举动被分析人士视为是阿里巴巴在社交网络上的最新努力，而其竞争对手腾讯控股有限公司在这一领域非常出色，该公司旗下的移动社交应用微信拥有超过8亿用户。

Wang Xiaofeng, senior analyst³ with Forrester Research, said that it is very difficult for late arrivals to boost their market share in the social networking market. But, Alibaba has never given up its hope in this field.

Forrester Research的高级分析师王晓峰表示，对于晚些进入社交网络市场的公司来说，提高他们的市场份额是非常困难的。但是，阿里巴巴从未放弃在这一领域的希望。

"With WeChat growing bigger and bigger, it makes sense for Alipay launch a counter attack to step up its effort in social networking," she said.

她说道：“随着微信变得越来越强大，支付宝发动一次反击来加强其在社交网络方面的努力，这是有意义的。”