Coronavirus means Irish exporters are braced for reduced sales in the first quarter of the year

The outbreak of the coronavirus has come at a difficult and sensitive time for China’s economy.

China’s GDP growth last year was the slowest since 1990 - about a 6 per cent increase in GDP. The trade war with the US had already taken its toll on state-owned and private businesses. Many Chinese cities and provinces are too stretched to bankroll any prolonged closures due to the virus.