I didn't say that the emulating China is what should be done in this case. I much prefer the UX of Apple Pay with my watch - it still feels magical.
It is interesting how much cheaper the QR based payment schemes are in China. Payment processors in the west charge 2-3% typically for tap/dip/swipe. In China, the QR transaction fee is a fraction of that. Also, a bunch of the infrastructure for printing, displaying, and reading the QR codes is pretty cheap.
