BOC powers cross-border trade expansion

The Bank of China has consistently prioritized advancing high-level opening-up and facilitating cross-border trade, playing a pivotal role in the steady, long-term development of China's foreign trade.

This year, the bank has enhanced the efficiency of its financial services by deepening the digital and intelligent development of cross-border financial business, innovating services for new foreign trade formats, and optimizing support for key customer groups.

These efforts have addressed corporate financing challenges, aiding foreign trade entities in their global expansion and injecting financial momentum into the high-quality development of foreign trade.

Cross-border e-commerce

New formats like cross-border e-commerce have emerged as crucial engines for optimizing the foreign trade structure and smoothing domestic and international dual circulation.

Preliminary estimates from the General Administration of Customs indicate that China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached approximately 1.32 trillion yuan ($185 billion) in the first half of this year, marking a 5.7 percent year-on-year increase and demonstrating strong development vitality.

Recognizing this trend, BOC has made cross-border e-commerce a core focus of its services for new foreign trade formats, achieving impressive results.

According to the bank's semiannual report released in late August, the total transaction volume of its cross-border e-commerce business hit 530 billion yuan in the first six months, a 42 percent year-on-year increase. The number of cooperative institutions continued to grow, with the coverage rate of key customers reaching 80 percent.

To further extend its cross-border e-commerce service chain, BOC has adopted a strategy of "global layout plus digital empowerment". It has strengthened financial support for overseas warehouses, expanded scenario-based foreign trade businesses, and launched cross-border e-commerce overseas collection projects, promoting its global service penetration.

By targeting the small-amount, high-frequency, and large-volume transaction characteristics of cross-border e-commerce, the bank led major Chinese-funded peers by launching related overseas collection services in Singapore, a major international financial center and home to the capital hubs of many well-known overseas payment institutions.

This service offers one-stop financial support through full-process online operations. It covers currency exchange, cross-border remittances, bank-enterprise reconciliation, and parent-subsidiary account fund management. It is a key step in building the bank's multilevel service system for the sector.

BOC has also made significant strides in facilitating overall cross-border trade. Official data show that in the first half of this year, the number of cross-border settlement customers served by the bank increased by more than 16 percent year-on-year, and the volume of cross-border renminbi settlement rose by more than 17 percent.

Also, the growth rate of the bank's international trade settlement volume surpassed China's foreign trade import and export growth by 1.2 percentage points.

These achievements are underpinned by the bank's multidimensional service upgrades. In May, BOC released a comprehensive financial service plan to support cross-border trade facilitation.

The plan addresses three core enterprise needs: fund security, asset preservation, and stable improvement of operational capabilities. It covers five key scenarios: new offshore trade, export-to-domestic sales, expansion into emerging markets, global supply chain optimization, and capital market services.

The bank also provides customized services for multinational enterprises, small and medium-sized foreign trade companies, cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouse operators.

During the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services, BOC launched a digital ocean freight payment service, offering full-process, full-scenario, and multichannel payment solutions for international trade participants, such as import and export enterprises, freight forwarders, international transportation companies and shipping platforms, further simplifying trade procedures.

The bank also introduced an insurance service for the low-altitude economic industry chain during the conference. This service provides loss compensation, risk management, and financing facilitation for technology companies in the low-altitude economy, based on the risk protection needs and real transactions of upstream and downstream enterprises.

It aims to ensure the smooth operation of the industry chain and support the robust development of the low-altitude economy.

Moreover, as a leading Chinese investment bank in the overseas exchangeable bond and convertible bond market, BOC International features the largest market share, the earliest operations, the most underwriting deals, and the richest execution experience in recent years.

In March, it successfully assisted China Hongqiao Group in issuing $300 million in convertible bonds due in 2030, marking the first one of its kind in the domestic aluminum products industry in the past three years.

SME-centered solutions

BOC has tailored services to meet the unique needs of various foreign trade enterprises, with a particular focus on assisting SMEs. For instance, in Guangzhou, a technology company specializing in e-commerce furniture exports faced financing challenges due to its asset-light operation model and lack of collateral.

After on-site communication and risk assessment, BOC's Guangdong branch verified the authenticity of the enterprise's trade and approved a credit line, addressing its financing needs effectively. The enterprise's financial director stated that BOC used customs data instead of financial statements, truly understanding the pain points of cross-border enterprises.

In Shanghai, an import and export company mainly engaged in the wholesale of pesticides and fertilizers, with products sold to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other regions, faced seasonal working capital needs and exchange rate risks.

BOC's Shanghai branch, in collaboration with the Shanghai Administration Center of Policy Financing Guarantee Funds for SMEs, provided a working capital loan and customized an integrated renminbi and foreign currency service plan, and also offered credit risk limits for its trading counterparts, enhancing capital utilization efficiency.

Furthermore, BOC has strengthened financial support for customers like large supermarkets and e-commerce platforms engaged in export-to-domestic sales, offering comprehensive services including account management, settlement and financing. This support helps enterprises link domestic and international markets, reinforcing BOC's commitment to high-level opening-up.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn