The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) has teamed up with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce to help private firms invest and expand abroad.

They have agreed to strengthen cooperation to stimulate exports of electro-mechanical and high-technology products, support private firms to invest abroad and contract overseas projects, and provide credit for farm produce exports and mergers and acquisitions abroad.

China Eximbank did not reveal its credit line for 2007, but in the year to November, it has extended more than 265.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The private sector has been growing fast since the country's entry to the World Trade Organization five years ago. More than half of Chinese companies or 4.87 million are privately owned, with a total registered capital exceeding 7.29 trillion yuan (931 billion U.S. dollars).

Going global is no longer just the ambition of large state-owned enterprises. Many private firms seek to expand their presence in the global arena, analysts say.

By the end of September, China's private companies employed a total of 63.95 million people, up 9.8 percent from the end of last year. Their exports totaled 173.1 billion U.S. dollars, up 46 percent from the same period last year.

Source: Xinhua