SINOSURE: what China's export credit insurer actually does

SINOSURE is a name that appears often in Chinese export trade, but it is not always explained clearly. Its full name is China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation. According to SINOSURE's official corporate profile, it was established on December 18, 2001 as a state-funded, policy-oriented insurance company supporting China's foreign trade and economic cooperation.

That description matters. SINOSURE is not a conventional commercial insurer, and it is not simply a lender. It sits inside China's export credit system, providing insurance, guarantees and credit risk services for exporters, banks, overseas project contractors and investors.

In practical terms, SINOSURE is concerned with a specific question: after goods, services, projects or investments have been delivered or committed, what happens if the overseas buyer, debtor or host-country environment prevents payment from being made?

Export credit insurance is about collection risk

Cross-border trade is rarely just shipment followed by immediate payment. Exporters may extend credit terms to overseas buyers. Banks may finance export receivables through factoring or forfaiting. Engineering projects may be delivered and paid in stages. Overseas investments can be affected by exchange controls, host-country policies or political instability.

SINOSURE's short-term export credit insurance product page describes the risk directly. It protects enterprises exporting goods or services, and banks conducting factoring or forfaiting business, against accounts receivable losses caused by commercial or political risks. The covered credit period is generally within one year and not more than two years. The maximum indemnity ratio is 90%, while the maximum participation ratio under export credit insurance for forfaiting can reach 95%.

This is not product quality insurance. It is not price insurance. It addresses one of the basic risks in credit-based trade: the buyer does not pay, cannot pay, or payment cannot be made because of conditions in the buyer's country or payment route.

SINOSURE is broader than one insurance product

SINOSURE's official pages and 2024 annual report describe a wider set of products and services, but the common thread is credit risk in exports and overseas business.

Short-term export credit insurance mainly covers receivables risk after goods or services are exported from China. Medium- and long-term export credit insurance is more common in capital goods, project contracting, financial leasing and project finance. It covers collection risk for financial institutions, exporters or financial leasing companies under export-related loan agreements, commercial contracts or leasing contracts. The tenor is generally 2 to 15 years.

Overseas investment insurance deals with a different risk layer. It protects investors and financial institutions against economic losses caused by political risks in the host country, including expropriation, exchange restrictions, war, political violence and government breach of contract. SINOSURE's product page states that the insurance tenor is not more than 20 years, with a maximum indemnity ratio not exceeding 95%.

SINOSURE also provides guarantees and credit information services. Its guarantee business supports capital goods exports, overseas project contracting, overseas investment and acquisitions, and general trade through financing guarantees, bid bonds, performance bonds and advance payment guarantees. Credit information services are built around country risk, buyer credit, enterprise information and bank information.

SINOSURE's 2024 annual report summarizes these functions as market development, loss compensation and financing facilitation. That is a useful framing: SINOSURE is not only present when a claim is paid. It is also part of market entry, bank financing and overseas project risk management.

Commercial risk and political risk are the two core categories

Two terms appear repeatedly in SINOSURE's product materials: commercial risk and political risk.

Commercial risk usually comes from the counterparty. Examples include bankruptcy, inability to pay, payment delay, refusal to accept goods, business suspension, receivership, refusal to accept bills, or a clear indication that the buyer will not perform its main contractual obligations without a contractual or legal basis.

Political risk comes from the country or region of the buyer, debtor, project or payment route. Examples include exchange restrictions, import restrictions, payment moratoriums, war, civil war, rebellion, revolution, riots, terrorism, nationalization, confiscation, expropriation and government breach of contract.

These two categories explain why export credit insurance is different from ordinary property insurance. It is not mainly about whether goods in a warehouse are damaged. It is about whether the credit chain behind a cross-border transaction still works.

Scale and institutional position

SINOSURE's English corporate profile states that, by the end of 2025, it had supported more than USD 10 trillion of domestic and international trade and overseas investment, served 400,000 customers and paid more than USD 27.9 billion in claims. The same profile says SINOSURE has ranked first among global export credit agencies by total business volume since 2015.

In the international export credit insurance sector, the Berne Union lists SINOSURE as an ECA, or export credit agency, with insurance and guarantees as its instruments. SINOSURE's own materials also emphasize credit risk management. Its credit information database covers 490 million enterprises and banks worldwide, and its credit investigation business covers all countries, regions and major sectors.

These figures show that SINOSURE is not limited to a small number of large projects. It operates across short-term trade, medium- and long-term projects, overseas investment, bank financing and credit information.

Why SINOSURE often appears together with banks

SINOSURE is not a bank and does not simply provide ordinary loans to exporters. But it is closely connected to trade finance.

The reason is straightforward: banks look at risk structure. Export receivables, future project payments and medium- or long-term contract payments all carry buyer credit risk and sometimes country risk. If part of that risk is insured, the financing structure looks different.

SINOSURE's 2024 annual report says it worked with 182 banks during the year to provide comprehensive financial support for 153 overseas investment and financing projects. It also mentions a case where SINOSURE helped a Yunnan-based enterprise obtain RMB 710 million in offshore RMB cross-border working capital financing. These examples show how SINOSURE can sit between export contracts, receivables, bank financing and overseas project risk.

What it means for chemicals and industrial trade

For chemicals, raw materials and industrial products, SINOSURE is most relevant where trade is done on credit terms.

Many chemical transactions are not cash-before-delivery. Overseas distributors, industrial end users and project customers may require payment terms. Import rules, exchange controls, market changes and buyer financial conditions can all affect collection. For exporters, product conformity is only one part of the transaction. Getting paid on time is another layer.

SINOSURE works in that second layer. It does not replace contracts, quality documents, SDS, COA, compliance review or buyer due diligence. But it connects buyer credit, country risk, insurance claims and bank financing. In cross-border chemical trade, that makes it part of the financial and credit risk infrastructure.

Conclusion

SINOSURE's core role is to bring part of China's export collection risk, buyer risk and country risk into an insurance and guarantee framework. It is not a regular commercial insurer, and it is not simply a financing institution. It is China's policy-oriented export credit insurance agency.

The official materials point to a clear reality: when Chinese companies sell goods, technologies and services overseas, or participate in overseas projects and investment, risk does not stop at production and delivery. It also appears in payment, financing and the host-country environment. SINOSURE exists to identify, underwrite and manage part of that risk, and to compensate eligible losses when insured events occur.

References

• SINOSURE: Corporate Profile
• 中国信保：公司简介
• SINOSURE 2024 Annual Report
• SINOSURE: Short-term Export Credit Insurance
• SINOSURE: Medium- and Long-term Export Credit Insurance
• SINOSURE: Overseas Investment Insurance
• Berne Union: SINOSURE Member Profile
• Belt and Road Portal: SINOSURE