Global Sources, a Hong Kong firm that facilitates trade with Greater China, said 35 percent of 581 suppliers it polled this month reported a significant impact from the crisis, while 60 percent said there had been some impact.
Two-thirds of the manufacturers surveyed said shipments to Europe had dropped in the past few months, while 40 percent said they envisaged a further fall in exports next year.
European buyers were placing smaller orders, especially for computers and consumer electronics; they were also negotiating lower prices and showing more interest in entry-level models, Global Sources said.
Many Chinese suppliers were reacting to Europe's woes by doing more business with Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia; close to 20 percent planned to expand in the domestic market to tap rising Chinese consumption.
"China suppliers are already taking proactive measures to sustain their export business in view of slowing orders from Europe," said Craig Pepples, Global Sources' president of corporate affairs.
In another sign that the crisis is taking a toll on business, international air freight traffic in October was 4.8 percent lower than a year earlier, the International Air Transport Association said on Monday.
The euro zone has already entered a mild recession and much worse could follow unless policymakers take decisive action to get ahead of the market, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Monday.
But only 3 percent of the manufacturers surveyed by Global Sources said they might relocate their factories to lower-cost areas because of the slowdown in Europe, and only 1 percent said they might have to close down if business did not improve soon. (Reuters)
