China has introduced a pilot programme to give domestic firms greater access to overseas financing for green and low-carbon projects, the country’s foreign exchange regulator announced on Thursday.
The initiative, unveiled by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), will enable eligible non-financial enterprises to direct cross-border funds into projects that comply with green finance and low-carbon transition standards set by the People’s Bank of China and other authorities.
Under the scheme, such projects will account for a smaller share of companies’ risk-weighted cross-border financing quotas, effectively expanding their borrowing capacity for green initiatives. SAFE said the move is intended to channel more international capital into China’s energy transition.
The pilot will cover 16 provincial-level regions and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, as well as coastal hubs such as Shenzhen, Qingdao, Xiamen and Ningbo.
In addition, registration procedures for foreign debt will be streamlined, with banks authorised to process filings directly. SAFE said the reforms were designed to ease access to green foreign debt services, raise cross-border financing limits for qualifying projects, and ultimately strengthen support for high-quality economic development while maintaining financial stability.
