Apple plans to launch its mobile payment system Apple Pay in China by early February, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company has already struck deals with China's big four state-run banks, the newspaper reported late Monday, citing people familiar with the discussions. (on.wsj.com/1LwSf8O)

When launched, Apple Pay will mainly compete with Alipay, the online payment platform run by Alibaba Holding Group affiliate Ant Financial, and UnionPay Co, a state-controlled consortium that has a monopoly on all yuan payment cards issued and used in the country.

Apple's plans could still face regulatory hurdles in China, where banking and e-commerce are overseen by a number of government agencies, WSJ said.

Apple has not commented on the report.

It is also not clear how much Apple would charge for purchases made through Apple Pay in China. The company gets 0.15 percent of all credit card transactions and 0.5 cents per debit transaction in the United States, the paper said.