As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world, foreign trade enterprises are encountering major challenges. The government of Hai'an, Nantong is offering strong support to local foreign trade enterprises to help them weather the difficulties.

According to the chairman of Xinyuan Group in Hai'an, the number of domestic orders in the first quarter of 2020 was level year on year, while the number of foreign trade orders dropped by 20 percent.

The company's subsidiary specializing in silk garments is equipped with dust-free workshops and experienced workers, and so decided to begin producing face masks due to the increasing market demand. It is now capable of producing 100,000 face masks per day. In addition, the group has also started to produce disinfection materials, hoping to reduce losses.

Workers at an enterprise in Hai'an, Nantong [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Visa suspensions and travel restrictions in many countries have also led to difficulties in attracting talents and exports, as well as pre-sales and after-sales affairs.

Wang Junshan, executive assistant of Nantong Xiaoxing Transformer Co, said that although the pandemic has had little impact on the company, with few clients canceling orders, they are still keeping in close contact with foreign clients and providing them with protective supplies.

The Hai'an government has offered timely help to enterprises experiencing difficulties through supporting policies that stabilize foreign trade and encourage local enterprises to develop cross-border e-commerce for market expansion.

One local company focusing on household supplies experienced a year-on-year increase of 50 percent in sales revenue in the first quarter thanks to online sales.