China’s Trade Faces Challenges as Small Firms Battle Coronavirus Impact

China’s Trade Faces Challenges as Small Firms Battle Coronavirus Impact
A worker drives a vehicle carrying bicycles from Didi Chuxing's bike sharing service in the morning after the extended Lunar New Year holiday caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak, near Zhongguancun Software Park, in Beijing, China on Feb. 10, 2020. Tingshu Wang/Reuters
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BEIJING—China’s foreign trade faces challenges as small- and mid-size firms in its supply chains battle financing difficulties amid trade curbs, lack of raw materials and delayed payments during a coronavirus outbreak, the commerce ministry said on Feb. 27.

A ministry survey showed more than 90 percent of roughly 7,000 companies engaged in foreign trade faced delays in shipping and payments because of the outbreak, the ministry told reporters in an online briefing.