Chinese exporters owed US$150b

The China Export and Credit Insurance Corp. (CECIC) estimates that Chinese exporters are owed US$150 billion by foreign buyers, state media reported. The amount of debt has increased by an average of US$15 billion per year over the last three years. In the past, most of those who owed money hailed from developing economies, but today half of the debtors are from Western Europe and North America. Liu Shunjie, deputy secretary-general of the China Chamber of International Commerce, said that while many overseas companies cannot afford to pay Chinese exporters what they owe in the wake of the global financial crisis, "some of them are doing this on purpose." He said most of the victims are small export companies in southeast China who cannot afford international debt collectors.