BEIJING - Chinese businesses will face growing risks in short-term export trade credit in the first quarter of 2012, according to China Export & Credit Insurance Corp (Sinosure) on Tuesday.

“Italy, Germany, South Korea, Spain and Mexico are the major countries that Chinese exporters should be particularly concerned about over short-term export credit insurance,” said Ai Renzhi, chief credit analyst with Sinosure.

China’s short-term export trade credit risk index (ERI), an index tracking the risks of China’s major trading partners, has been growing in these countries since the fourth quarter of last year, according to Sinosure.