Cancelled shipments, returned goods and a dearth of new orders have left China exporters in crisis as the coronavirus hits its trading partners worldwide -- accelerating a long-standing push towards domestic consumption.

He said domestic sales from export businesses rose 17 percent in April, and the government was supporting trading enterprises that specialised in foreign sales to tap the home market instead.

Faced with few new orders and cancellations of existing ones, Chen said the company is attempting more domestic sales by changing the packaging of products and working with platforms such as JD.com to sell online.

He expects orders from the US -- a major export market -- to fall further, and is preparing to take part in a trade fair in China to boost sales within the country.

Ng said he had already considered expanding domestic sales in China when the US imposed tariffs on Chinese goods at the start of their still-simmering trade war which began two years ago.