IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v91y2025ics0927538x2500040x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Sino-U.S. trade war: Challenges for trade credit financing and the role of corporate culture

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Yuyou
  • Cheng, Sirui
  • Zhang, Yuning

Abstract

This research demonstrates that the Sino-U.S. trade war decreases the acquisition of trade credit of the firms exposed to risk in trade with the U.S., and a strong corporate culture can mitigate the adverse effects of the Sino-U.S. trade war outbreak on Chinese firms. We also find that a strong corporate culture can help enhance firms' innovation and transparency, boosting product competitiveness and upstream suppliers' trust. These effects are more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises. We show that international trading conflict hurts the financing of Chinese enterprises, and well-established informal institutions can mitigate these adverse effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Yuyou & Cheng, Sirui & Zhang, Yuning, 2025. "The Sino-U.S. trade war: Challenges for trade credit financing and the role of corporate culture," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:91:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x2500040x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102703
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X2500040X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102703?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael L. Lemmon & Karl V. Lins, 2003. "Ownership Structure, Corporate Governance, and Firm Value: Evidence from the East Asian Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1445-1468, August.
    2. Esther Duflo, 2001. "Schooling and Labor Market Consequences of School Construction in Indonesia: Evidence from an Unusual Policy Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 795-813, September.
    3. Jacobson, Louis S & LaLonde, Robert J & Sullivan, Daniel G, 1993. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 685-709, September.
    4. Petersen, Mitchell A & Rajan, Raghuram G, 1997. "Trade Credit: Theories and Evidence," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(3), pages 661-691.
    5. Pablo Fajgelbaum & Pinelopi Goldberg & Patrick Kennedy & Amit Khandelwal & Daria Taglioni, 2024. "The US-China Trade War and Global Reallocations," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 295-312, June.
    6. Kyle Handley & Nuno Limão, 2018. "Policy Uncertainty, Trade, and Welfare: Theory and Evidence for China and the United States," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Policy Externalities and International Trade Agreements, chapter 5, pages 123-175, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Louis S. Jacobson & Robert J. LaLonde & Daniel G. Sullivan, 1993. "Long-term earnings losses of high-seniority displaced workers," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 17(Nov), pages 2-20.
    8. Shu Lin & Haichun Ye, 2018. "Foreign Direct Investment, Trade Credit, and Transmission of Global Liquidity Shocks: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 206-238.
    9. Benguria, Felipe & Choi, Jaerim & Swenson, Deborah L. & Xu, Mingzhi (Jimmy), 2022. "Anxiety or pain? The impact of tariffs and uncertainty on Chinese firms in the trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    10. Jory, Surendranath R. & Khieu, Hinh D. & Ngo, Thanh N. & Phan, Hieu V., 2020. "The influence of economic policy uncertainty on corporate trade credit and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    11. Lee, Yul W. & Stowe, John D., 1993. "Product Risk, Asymmetric Information, and Trade Credit," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 285-300, June.
    12. Jean-Noël Barrot & Julien Sauvagnat, 2016. "Input Specificity and the Propagation of Idiosyncratic Shocks in Production Networks," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(3), pages 1543-1592.
    13. Jarrad Harford & Sandy Klasa & William F. Maxwell, 2014. "Refinancing Risk and Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 975-1012, June.
    14. Mary Amiti & Stephen J. Redding & David E. Weinstein, 2019. "The Impact of the 2018 Tariffs on Prices and Welfare," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 187-210, Fall.
    15. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    16. Graham, John R. & Grennan, Jillian & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shivaram, 2022. "Corporate culture: Evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 552-593.
    17. Mariassunta Giannetti & Mike Burkart & Tore Ellingsen, 2011. "What You Sell Is What You Lend? Explaining Trade Credit Contracts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 1261-1298.
    18. Nicholas Bloom & Mirko Draca & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Trade Induced Technical Change? The Impact of Chinese Imports on Innovation, IT and Productivity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(1), pages 87-117.
    19. Markus K. Brunnermeier & Lasse Heje Pedersen, 2009. "Market Liquidity and Funding Liquidity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2201-2238, June.
    20. Kevin Lim & Daniel Trefler & Miaojie Yu, 2022. "Looking Backward, Innovating Forward: A Theory of Competitive Cascades," NBER Working Papers 30455, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Tarek A Hassan & Stephan Hollander & Laurence van Lent & Ahmed Tahoun, 2019. "Firm-Level Political Risk: Measurement and Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 2135-2202.
    22. Raymond Fisman & Yasushi Hamao & Yongxiang Wang, 2014. "Nationalism and Economic Exchange: Evidence from Shocks to Sino-Japanese Relations," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(9), pages 2626-2660.
    23. Pierce, Justin R. & Schott, Peter K., 2018. "Investment responses to trade liberalization: Evidence from U.S. industries and establishments," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 203-222.
    24. Mateut, Simona & Bougheas, Spiros & Mizen, Paul, 2006. "Trade credit, bank lending and monetary policy transmission," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 603-629, April.
    25. Raj Chetty & Adam Looney & Kory Kroft, 2009. "Salience and Taxation: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1145-1177, September.
    26. Acemoglu, Daron & Johnson, Simon & Kermani, Amir & Kwak, James & Mitton, Todd, 2016. "The value of connections in turbulent times: Evidence from the United States," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 368-391.
    27. Bianconi, Marcelo & Esposito, Federico & Sammon, Marco, 2021. "Trade policy uncertainty and stock returns," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    28. Tarek A & Stephan Hollander & Laurence van & Markus Schwedeler & Ahmed Tahoun & Ralph Koijen, 2023. "Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: COVID-19, SARS, and H1N1," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(12), pages 4919-4964.
    29. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2015. "The value of corporate culture," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 60-76.
    30. D'Mello, Ranjan & Toscano, Francesca, 2020. "Economic policy uncertainty and short-term financing: The case of trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    31. Karolyi, G. Andrew, 2016. "The gravity of culture for finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 610-625.
    32. Kai Li & Feng Mai & Rui Shen & Xinyan Yan, 2021. "Measuring Corporate Culture Using Machine Learning," NBER Chapters, in: Big Data: Long-Term Implications for Financial Markets and Firms, pages 3265-3315, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    33. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    34. El Ghoul, Sadok & Zheng, Xiaolan, 2016. "Trade credit provision and national culture," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 475-501.
    35. Fabbri, Daniela & Klapper, Leora F., 2016. "Bargaining power and trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 66-80.
    36. Li, Kai & Liu, Xing & Mai, Feng & Zhang, Tengfei, 2021. "The Role of Corporate Culture in Bad Times: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(7), pages 2545-2583, November.
    37. Di (Andrew) Wu, 2024. "Text-Based Measure of Supply Chain Risk Exposure," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(7), pages 4781-4801, July.
    38. Guido Tabellini, 2008. "The Scope of Cooperation: Values and Incentives," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 905-950.
    39. Lin, Shu & Ye, Haichun, 2018. "The international credit channel of U.S. monetary policy transmission to developing countries: Evidence from trade data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 33-41.
    40. Chod, Jiri & Lyandres, Evgeny & Yang, S. Alex, 2019. "Trade credit and supplier competition," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 484-505.
    41. Zhou, Zhongsheng & Li, Zhuo, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and trade credit financing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    42. Diane Charlton & Genti Kostandini, 2021. "Can Technology Compensate for a Labor Shortage? Effects of 287(g) Immigration Policies on the U.S. Dairy Industry," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(1), pages 70-89, January.
    43. Huang, Yi & Lin, Chen & Liu, Sibo & Tang, Heiwai, 2023. "Trade networks and firm value: Evidence from the U.S.-China trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    44. Huang, Kenneth G. & Jia, Nan & Ge, Yeyanran, 2024. "Forced to innovate? Consequences of United States' anti-dumping sanctions on innovations of Chinese exporters," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    45. Cheng, Sirui & Hua, Xiuping & Wang, Qingfeng, 2023. "Corporate culture and firm resilience in China: Evidence from the Sino-US trade war," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    46. Wu, Wenfeng & Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M., 2014. "Trust and the provision of trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 146-159.
    47. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella, 2014. "Corporate culture and CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 66-82.
    48. Kai Li & Feng Mai & Rui Shen & Xinyan Yan, 2021. "Measuring Corporate Culture Using Machine Learning [Machine learning methods that economists should know about]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(7), pages 3265-3315.
    49. Al Guindy, Mohamed, 2021. "Corporate Twitter use and cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    50. Kim, Kenneth A. & Xie, Hongjun & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2024. "Are R&D-intensive firms more resilient to trade shocks? Evidence from the U.S.–China trade war," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    51. Lang, Mark & Maffett, Mark, 2011. "Transparency and liquidity uncertainty in crisis periods," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 101-125.
    52. Ge, Ying & Qiu, Jiaping, 2007. "Financial development, bank discrimination and trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 513-530, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cheng, Sirui & Hua, Xiuping & Wang, Qingfeng, 2023. "Corporate culture and firm resilience in China: Evidence from the Sino-US trade war," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Luo, Yonggen & Tian, Na & Kong, Dongmin & Cui, Huijie, 2025. "Managers' individualistic culture and trade credit," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Tarkom, Augustine & Yang, Lukai, 2024. "Presidential economic approval rating and trade credit," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    4. Vuong Thao Tran & Van Hoang Vu & Anh Le & Dinh Hoang Bach Phan, 2024. "Does it pay to treat employees well?: The case of informal finance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1-2), pages 473-510, January.
    5. Zhou, Zhongsheng & Li, Zhuo, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and trade credit financing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Tran, Thanh & Nguyen, Harvey & Pham, Mia Hang, 2025. "Do financial markets value corporate culture?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Stefano Filomeni & Michele Modina & Elena Tabacco, 2023. "Trade credit and firm investments: empirical evidence from Italian cooperative banks," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1099-1141, April.
    8. Fang, Yiwei & Fiordelisi, Franco & Hasan, Iftekhar & Leung, Woon Sau & Wong, Gabriel, 2023. "Corporate culture and firm value: Evidence from crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Xu, Qifa & Tan, Chao & Jiang, Cuixia & Zhao, Qinna, 2022. "Surname relationship and trade credit: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    10. Afzali, Mansoor, 2023. "Corporate culture and financial statement comparability," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    11. Huang, Yi & Lin, Chen & Liu, Sibo & Tang, Heiwai, 2023. "Trade networks and firm value: Evidence from the U.S.-China trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    12. Shi, Luqing & Yin, Zhujia & Zhang, Yun & Song, Linjia & Yang, Xin, 2025. "Regional financial risk and firms' access to trade credit: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    13. Xiu, Zongfeng & Liu, Ran & Feng, Pengshuo & Yin, Jingwei, 2023. "Does social culture matter for firms' access to trade credit? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. He, Ye & Li, Bingqian & Yu, Yunqiao & Zhang, Xiao, 2024. "The impact of trade policy uncertainty on short-term financing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Fan, Rui & Pan, Jianping & Wang, Jenny Jing & Yu, Minggui, 2023. "Do government provided credit ratings enhance or impede a firm's access to trade credit?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Song, Gaoya & Li, Quan, 2025. "Big data in tax enforcement and trade credit: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    17. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Habib, Ahsan, 2019. "Social capital and trade credit," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 158-174.
    18. Liu Hong & Tianpeng Zhou, 2024. "Firm-level political risk and the firm’s trade credit extension," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 48(3), pages 857-888, September.
    19. Li, Yaoqin, 2024. "Linking labor with capital: How employee friendly treatment impact trade credit availability," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    20. Lai, Shaojie & Chen, Lihan & Wang, Qing Sophie & Anderson, Hamish, 2022. "Natural disasters, trade credit, and firm performance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:91:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x2500040x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pacfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.