Chinese Wisdom in Policy-Based Financing Guarantees: A Path for Shared Learning--International Students Attend Lecture on Supporting SME Development
To share China's story on sustainable development for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the International Education Center hosted a special lecture titled “Policy-Based Financing Guarantee: Effectiveness and Experience in Supporting SME Development” on the afternoon of October 20. The lecture was delivered to 2024 and 2025 cohort international students by Zhang Jianguo, former Deputy Director of the Shanghai Policy-Based Financing Guarantee Fund Management Center for SMEs, and now a member of the National Financing Guarantee Fund expert panel and Vice Chair of the Re-guarance Committee of China Financing Guarantee Association.
Drawing from his extensive practical experience, Mr. Zhang shared insights on how policy-based financing guarantees in China help address key challenges faced by SMEs. Starting from common financing difficulties such as limited access and high costs, he used real cases to illustrate how such guarantees serve as a crucial tool, showcasing China’s institutional innovation and practical wisdom in supporting SME growth.
During the interactive session, students from Gambia, Namibia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and other countries engaged in lively discussions on practical issues including motivating banks to lend, fiscal support measures, limited fiscal resources, commercial bank ownership structures, SME classification standards, and risk control in financing guarantees. In response, Mr. Zhang summarized Shanghai’s replicable and scalable experience in policy-based guarantee operations, referencing China’s early reform-era SME development journey. This provided valuable references and inspiration for students’ home countries in exploring financial and fiscal coordination to boost SME development.
The lecture combined in-depth policy analysis with vivid case studies, creating a dynamic link between theory and practice. Students actively participated and expressed great satisfaction with the takeaways. Many noted they would bring back practices such as the “whitelist system,” “risk-sharing mechanisms,” and “leveraged use of funds” to inspire new approaches for local SME development in their home countries.
Since the beginning of the year, under the guidance and support of the College Party Committee, the International Education Center has been actively implementing initiatives to enhance international students’ understanding of and friendship with China. Moving forward, the Center will continue to refine training programs, share China’s development stories from a professional perspective, and build bridges for international policy exchange, empowering students to become ambassadors of cross-cultural communication.
