How HSBC is helping China’s low-carbon industries scale internationally

The initiative reflects HSBC’s focus on supporting clients to transition and enabling innovation, growth, and opportunity.

The Sustainability and Transition Credit Facility will offer financing to eligible Chinese businesses across a wide range of sectors, including the fastest growing transition ecosystems, including clean power, electrification of transport, data centres, and artificial intelligence.

The scale of the new facility reflects the importance of China’s climate technology sector – including clean energy, batteries, electric vehicles and other low-carbon materials – in the global transition. China accounts for ~47% of global cleantech exports., and around two-thirds of global solar and battery exports¹., which play a key role in the decarbonisation of power and transport networks around the world.²

Demand for these technologies is rising as countries look to build resilience, meet climate goals and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. China’s solar exports jumped in April 2026, with sales to 50 countries setting all-time highs,³ while a quarter of all new cars sold globally are now EVs.⁴ Worldwide capacity of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is also set to quadruple between 2025 and 2030, according to HSBC Global Investment Research.⁵

Chinese businesses are enthusiastic about the potential for growth from low-carbon solutions as they adopt technologies across the value chain. Some 97% of corporates in China view sustainability as a business opportunity, according to HSBC’s Sustainability Pulse Survey 2025, with 66% describing it as a key strategic focus.⁶

Yet as more Chinese businesses venture overseas or expand into new markets, they are encountering new challenges, including regulatory uncertainty, international competition and local market conditions.

The Sustainable and Transition Credit Facility strengthens HSBC’s support for Chinese businesses as they look to overcome these obstacles and contribute to decarbonisation efforts around the globe.

At a recent HSBC roundtable in Shanghai, business leaders highlighted four main hurdles to their international expansion.

Regulatory uncertainty complicates efforts to predict long-term returns and model future cash flows, impacting investment decisions. In an evolving regulatory landscape, exporters need to stay alert to sudden changes that can affect pricing or market access.

Increased global competition also poses commercial challenges, including pressure on pricing. Prices for battery packs, for example, have fallen by more than 90% in the last decade.^7 This is a challenge for Chinese businesses looking beyond market share gains to their long-term profitability.

Many also point to a lack of technical knowledge or services in the local market. This can make it harder to sell more sophisticated or more efficient products at fair prices, as well as pose an ongoing challenge to operations and maintenance requirements.

Access to finance is uneven, too. Small and medium-sized enterprises and climate tech start-ups see this as a particular hurdle.

HSBC’s new facility underlines its commitment to helping companies overcome these hurdles and meet growing demand for transition solutions.

Supporting international growth is a key part of HSBC’s sustainable finance and transition strategy, which is focused on three pillars: supporting fast-growing ecosystems in clean power, electrification of transport and digital technologies; acting as a transition partner for all clients; and catalysing emerging climate tech.

HSBC’s deep roots in Asia, financing expertise and its global footprint provide a powerful platform for Chinese businesses looking to scale up and connect with overseas markets. With dedicated China desks in 26 markets globally, the bank acts as a bridge between global and local markets, providing banking services and Chinese-language capabilities to more than 2,000 Chinese holding companies and their overseas subsidiaries.

In one example, HSBC recently provided financing to support a Chinese power company’s investment in a solar power joint venture in the Middle East. Elsewhere, the bank provided a green guarantee, a trade finance instrument supporting transactions with a positive climate impact, to help a Chinese battery maker import raw material for its German subsidiary.

HSBC is also helping scale up climate technologies around the world. It played a leading role in a landmark GBP1 billion funding package sealed in May 2025 for Japan-based AESC, which is building a new gigafactory in the UK that will power up to 100,000 EVs every year – a sixfold increase on the UK’s existing capacity.⁸

For Chinese businesses expanding overseas, a deep understanding of new markets, including local regulations, business practices and the competitive landscape is an essential first step. Suppliers of clean energy components, EVs and other low-carbon products also need to ensure they align with local policy priorities, such as onshore production and job creation, as well as emissions targets.

Partnerships across the ecosystem are also important: connections with global financial institutions, investors and other stakeholders can unlock new opportunities and mitigate risks.

To extend this growth in international markets, Chinese corporates will need the right products, financing tools and local market knowledge to expand overseas with success.