China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has teamed up with a leading state-owned insurer to lend support to export enterprises during the economic disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 23 February MOFCOM announced the release of the “Notice of the Ministry of Commerce and Sinosure Concerning Expansion of Export Credit Insurance Support for Effectively Performing Cross-cyclical Adjustment to Further Stabilise Foreign Trade” (商务部中国出口信用保险公司关于加大出口信用保险支持做好跨周期调节进一步稳外贸的工作通知) in conjunction with the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure).
The Notice requires that all offices of MOFCOM and branches of Sinosure “expand the vigour of support for foreign trade enterprises,” as well as “fully employ the role of export credit insurance and effectively perform cross-cyclical policy design.”
The Notice outlines measures across six areas are including
- Strengthening policy guidance,
- Strengthening support guarantees for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,
- Driving the innovative development of foreign trade,
- Guaranteeing the stability and smoothness of industrial supply chains,
- Driving the integrated development of domestic and external trade,
- Strengthening short-term insurance policy finance.
The Notice also calls for improvements to export credit insurance support policies that focus in particular upon trade in services.
