China will increase the amount of export credit guarantees for domestic companies and cut premiums to help firms explore relatively untapped markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and Russia, a marketing official said on Wednesday.

The country will also extend export credit guarantees to private and foreign-funded companies in recognition of their role in sustaining the rapid growth of China's exports.

Zhou Ji'an, head of the marketing department of the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure), told China Daily during the ongoing 91st China Export Commodities Fair in Guangzhou: "We will try to underwrite at least 5 per cent of China's total exports this year."

That 5 per cent will come to around US$12.5 billion, as exports totaled about US$250 billion last year and are expected to see moderate growth this year.

Exports backed by credit guarantees are this year expected to make up much more than last year's 1 per cent of China's total exports. However, 15 per cent of the world's trade was supported by export credit guarantees last year.

Sinosure Vice-President Duan Jingquan said the corporation also plans to cut premiums by 10 per cent in the second half of this year to make them affordable and attractive to more companies.

Sinosure, set up last December, brought together relative businesses of the People's Bank of China and the China Export and Import Bank (Exim Bank). It is now China's only official export credit guarantee agency.

The agency has set up an outlet in Beijing and is planning new outlets in Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Xiamen.

The People's Bank of China and Exim Bank used to provide State-owned trading firms with export credit guarantees but private and foreign-funded companies were denied such benefits.