Export credit insurance needs to enhance the consciousness of innovation

Export credit insurance is a policy-based insurance business formulated by the state to promote domestic export trade and ensure the safety of foreign exchange collection of export enterprises, which belongs to international practice. In recent ten years, the role of export credit insurance in the development of foreign trade has become more prominent. In the face of the complicated and changeable overseas market situation and the changing and upgrading of foreign trade transaction methods in recent years, the regulatory authorities need to broaden their vision and keep pace with the current market changes.

Recently, the State Council issued the Implementation Opinions on Promoting The Innovative Development of Foreign Trade, stressing the need to optimize the innovation environment, improve the security system and strengthen policy support. Under the premise of complying with wto rules, it is proposed to increase fiscal and financial support, give full play to the role of import and export credit and export credit insurance, further expand the coverage of export credit insurance, and appropriately reduce the premium rate in accordance with market principles. This is a reaffirmation by the state that export credit insurance should play a role in stabilizing foreign trade.

Although China's export credit insurance started relatively late, but the pace of development is not slow, especially in the last decade, export credit insurance in the development of foreign trade increasingly prominent role. According to statistics released by the public, the coverage of policy-based export credit insurance in China has been increasing year by year and has exceeded 20% for two consecutive years. Last year, export credit insurance directly and indirectly boosted the export value of US $640 billion, accounting for 25.6 percent of China's total exports and 4.4 percent of ITS GDP in the same period. In the first eight months of this year, the cumulative insured amount of China Sinosure reached us $443.19 billion, an increase of 10.1% over the same period last year and a record high for the same period. Indemnity payment: $1.19 billion, up 63.1% year on year; Domestic trade was supported by 247.52 billion yuan, up 21.7 percent year on year.

However, it should be noted that since 2019, the international environment has become increasingly complex and severe, and China's foreign trade development is facing many new challenges. How to further improve the level and quality of policy support? How to serve national strategy more effectively and accurately support enterprise development? This is the innovation task in front of the export credit insurance regulatory authorities and China credit insurance companies.

From the policy level, the country attaches great importance to the role of export credit insurance. The Report on the Work of the Government called for "expanding the coverage of export credit insurance" for six consecutive years. Executive meetings of the State Council have put forward clear tasks for export credit insurance for many times. The latest implementation Opinions focus on innovating and stabilizing foreign trade measures, promoting the expansion of coverage, reasonably reducing premiums, and designing special insurance types that meet the needs of enterprises.

A better policy environment at the macro level requires scientific management of policy implementation departments, which involves regulatory innovation. As a policy-based insurance system, the supporting role of export credit insurance is more reflected in large foreign trade projects, such as the export of large complete sets of equipment and large overseas investment projects of "One Belt And One Road" related countries. These projects typically have complex contract terms, large amounts of financing, long execution periods and high credit risks. How to improve the guarantee efficiency is not something a Chinese credit insurance company can do. It requires the cooperation and support of multiple departments.

The innovation space is worth exploring, including reasonably shortening the project approval time and selecting more scientific regulatory indicators to enlarge the autonomy of CNIC in the guarantee quota. Especially in the face of the complicated and changeable overseas market situation and the changing and upgrading of foreign trade transaction methods in recent years, the regulatory authorities need to broaden their vision and keep pace with the current market changes.

As a specific implementer of policy-based insurance, CiITC needs to make more innovative designs, such as product innovation, information sharing mode innovation, market segmentation innovation and so on. Among them, the bancassurance cooperative innovation can bring rapid effect to enterprises. For enterprises, the smooth financing and loans, at least affect the development opportunities, may lose the survival conditions. Especially after the outbreak of COVID-19, the increased operating costs and tight capital turnover of foreign trade enterprises have become more obvious. Although China Credit Insurance has intensified its efforts in trade financing, it is far from enough to meet the needs of foreign trade enterprises. Especially in trans-regional cooperation, bank-Insurance in-depth cooperation and innovation is more urgent. Not only that, CSL should also open its mind and complement the advantages of foreign Banks, so as to provide more convenient financial conditions for Chinese companies in overseas markets.

In fact, innovation will be the most critical factor in both expanding and reducing costs. Only innovation can enhance the content of policy-based guarantee, make it play the most effective role, and better safeguard the overseas interests of Chinese enterprises.