(Xinhua file photo)

The pandemic has brought businesses chances for many Chinese corporations, even opening up new markets for some of them, as China has been the fastest of the major global markets to restart its industrial chains and it is also able to supply the world with products that many countries in the world can't manufacture at the moment. 

Yu Yuefeng, general manager of Shanghai-based bicycle maker Shanghai Phoenix Trade Co, said that they received "big orders" from the European market recently, a market which they could not enter in the past because of the EU's anti-dumping duties for Chinese bicycles. 

He said that this is because the pandemic has boosted demand for bicycle travel but has dented many countries' manufacturing capabilities. "Now, even with the anti-dumping duties, many (European) customers are willing to buy bicycles from us. Some governments also rolled out transportation subsidies for local people that use bicycles," Yu told the Global Times on Thursday. 

According to Yu, his company suffered from cancelled overseas orders and delayed deliveries around April, but foreign orders have largely rebounded since the end of April. 

Some other Chinese companies experienced a similar situation, saying foreign market demand has started to warm up in the last few months, much to their relief. 

Chen Li, general manager of Taixing-based Jichuan Hydraulic Machinery Manufacturing Co, said that the company receives daily foreign orders of about $20,000 on average currently, while their monthly orders stood at about $400,000 in March. 

She also noted that she is not worried about uncertainties arising from political friction like the China-US dispute. "Such friction would have some impact on companies that rely heavily on a single market but not on companies that export to the whole world like us," she told the Global Times. 

China's trade statistics also reflected a trend of recovery in overseas demand. In June, China's exports grew by 4.3 percent on a yearly basis, compared with 1.4 percent growth in May. 

The rebound in exports was also supported by a worldwide surge in online trade, a sector in which China is known to lead the world. 

Zhang Kuo, Alibaba Group's vice president, said on Thursday that the number of active buyers on alibaba.com, a cross-border e-commerce platform under Alibaba, surged by 92 percent year-on-year in July.

"China's online exports are sure to have positive growth this year, as many overseas purchasers and factories have been forced to make orders online and they have to resort to China's supply chains when supplies were cut elsewhere as a result of the pandemic," he said. 

Alibaba.com is about to start its Purchasing Festival in September, with the platform set to roll out preferential policies for both overseas buyers and domestic companies. Zhang said he is confident that the festival will see sales revenue more than double on a yearly basis as overseas clients stock up on products for Christmas promotions.