File photo: A vendor shows decoration strips to a foreign purchaser in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: Ma Jingjing/GT

As the pandemic spreads at a fast speed in western countries, Chinese exported small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) see growing challenges due to slow production resumption and hindered international personnel exchange, which resulted in declining exports. As a consequence, some face difficulties to sustain business with lack of cash flow and staff, while others saw opportunities by diverting business to save themselves. 

"Development of foreign trade within and outside China is pretty complicated and challenging, with growing uncertainties appearing continuously," Li Xingqian, director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference on Friday. 

After the virus outbreak in China, foreign trade enterprises have been suffering from payment delay and due loan, which caused great financial pressure on those enterprises. 

"About 30 percent of my export orders have been canceled since the coronavirus outbreak… and I am worried that some staff may leave the company," Liu Wei, CEO of Yiwu-based fashion exporting company Wentou Group, told the Global Times. 

Selling clothes to Europe and the US, Liu's company in the so-called "world manufacturing hub" did not suffer a heavy loss. She said the downstream manufacturing factories are more in danger, because they are not sure about market demand. 

According to a survey by the Ministry of Commerce among more than 7,000 foreign trade enterprises in China, more than 90 percent of them are forced to postpone good shipments and are facing great risks of orders cancelled.

Li said on Friday that for foreign trade SMEs greatly impacted by the epidemic, they could enjoy extended debt service temporarily with their payment of principal and interest extending to June 30. 

In addition, he added that credit insurance premium ratio could be lowered for the above enterprises. 

"I encourage export SMEs to see opportunities at this stage to enlarge exports to the global market, because China is good at expanding production at fast speed," Tian Yun, vice-director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Shi Xinyu, a trader based in Yiwu, diverted his business of exporting decorations and hardware tools to exporting face masks. 

"As the demand of face masks surged in Europe and the US, I cancelled my previous business and started export masks to foreign countries," Shi said. 

He noted the trade practices should be adjusted according to epidemic situation and as traders, they should optimize their business meanwhile give support to global battle against the coronavirus. 

As of Friday, 60% of SMEs in China resumed business, Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on press conference. 

Responding to the impacts of virus spreading abroad on China's import and export SMEs, Xin said the impacts are controllable as China remains the country with largest industrial scale, covering extensive fields and has the largest domestic market demands. 

"Industrial fundamentals are good," he added.