The short, general answer is yes.

In practice, the situation is more complicated. The financial requirements for loans from Chinese banks are generally higher than those in the EU and compared to domestic companies, and must be obtained against guarantees from banks outside China – thus requiring further risk assessments. At the same time, loans in foreign currency are affected by ‘borrowing gaps’ – i.e. foreign debt quota, that is the maximum amount that can be borrowed from offshore third-parties.

In fact, access to financing continues to be one of the top issues encountered by foreign companies in China.

• SMEs in China: Policy Environment Report (2022): https://www.eusmecentre.org.cn/publications/smes-in-china-policy-environment-report-2022/
• Position Paper of the Inter-Chamber Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Working Group (2022): https://www.eusmecentre.org.cn/publications/sme-position-paper-2022/