General

On June 16, the first digital financial service festival and the fourth small and micro customer service festival of Sinosure (hereinafter referred to as Sinosure) opened in Beijing. In the next three months, China Sinosure will take this service festival as an opportunity to deeply practice the service concept of "digital+inclusive", and share the Digital transformation achievements of "online+offline+ecology" of China Sinosure with the vast number of small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises through special activities such as "100 enterprise interviews", "1000 enterprises and 1000 faces", and "10000 enterprises prospering trade".

At the opening ceremony, China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation and the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce jointly released the "2023 China Small and Medium sized Foreign Trade Enterprise Export Risk Index (SMERI) Report". This index is a comprehensive index that measures the level of credit risk faced by small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in China and buyer's enterprise exchanges in different countries. It aims to help small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in China improve their ability to manage international trade transaction risks and steadily explore the international trade market.

It is understood that the SMERI index innovatively utilizes macroeconomic data from various countries, as well as a large amount of data resources such as China Sinosure's underwriting and claims business data, dynamic risk monitoring data, and expert research data, forming four dimensions that reflect macroeconomic, trade environment, subject quality, and payment status. In 2023, the SMERI index evaluated the credit risk levels of corporate transactions in 45 countries, including major developed markets in Europe and America, and RCEP member countries.

The report shows that based on historical data from the past three years, the overall export risk of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in China shows a fluctuating and decreasing trend.

In terms of macro-economy, the rising interest rates and increasing uncertainty in major countries represented by Europe and the United States, the rising geopolitical risks in hot spots such as Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, and the natural disasters, Energy crisis, food shortages, international debt and other problems in some countries and regions have all become adverse factors affecting trade activities at this stage.

In terms of trade environment, the game of big powers has accelerated the restructuring of the industrial chain and trade pattern, and trade protectionism and Unilateralism have become increasingly fierce. Some countries have improved their tariff levels, hidden trade barriers, and anti-dumping and countervailing measures against China's export goods, but most countries still have a strong demand for the import and export of China's goods and services in international trade.

In terms of subject quality, the risks reflected in the sub index of subject quality of buyer enterprises in 45 countries showed a steady decline, which reflected the trend of good change in the operating status of overseas enterprises after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of payment status, the payment performance of buyer enterprises in most countries has improved in the past year, but due to regional conflicts, the payment risk of some Eastern European country buyer enterprises has significantly increased.

According to relevant sources, SMERI can comprehensively reflect the spatiotemporal distribution and evolution trend of export credit risks of small and micro foreign trade enterprises in China. It can provide reference for relevant government departments to prevent and resolve trade risks, introduce targeted support policies for small and micro foreign trade enterprises, and promote the development of international trade.