Sinosure-Backed Credit Limits: An Axton Global Case Study of an Italian Importer

Italian companies import significant volumes of goods from China. As one of the leading manufacturers in the EU, the country specifically imports a large number of raw materials, machinery and equipment from China. They also import many types of agricultural products, in addition to textiles, materials and sewing accessories. Each year, import volumes—including electronics and household goods—continue to grow, and to ensure their supply chain is stable, beneficial payment conditions are required.

More specifically, Italian importers seek to procure postponed payment conditions from Chinese suppliers. However, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has led the creditability of Italian companies to decline considerably, many Chinese suppliers do not want to take the risk of offering postponed payment terms to their Italian importers. To this end, SINOSURE trade credit insurance is ideal, covering many bases – such as political and credit risks. We have written this article to explain how we assisted our Italian clients in using the Sinosure credit insurance tool.

During the year 2020 the number of Italian customers who came to us having been declined favourable credit terms was high. The main cause of this was the COVID-19 pandemic. Many suppliers were reluctant to extend deferred payment conditions to importers, mainly because of the imposed lockdowns.

Many suppliers feared that the lockdowns would lead Italian importers to suffer a lack of working capital. They feared their Italian importers would not be able to keep up with the repayments.

What helped with this, though, was the Sinosure insurance organisation. Sinosure amplified their backing, ensuring that the exports of Chinese suppliers remained high. It was Sinosure that also enabled Chinese exporters to recover financially, following the lockdown in China.

To counteract these disruptions, Sinosure significantly expanded its credit insurance capacity in 2020. This enhanced short-term backing of exporter credit limits provided Chinese suppliers with the financial security needed to comfortably maintain favorable credit terms for Italian importers. Even as the global economic environment faced severe challenges, Sinosure's proactive coverage played a pivotal role in keeping international trade moving forward.

In 2025, the volume of imports to the Italian market totaled $69.9 billion USD, demonstrating high growth rates, particularly in pharmaceuticals ($8.9 billion USD), industrial components ($9.6 billion USD), and transport ($3.1 billion USD).