An official China manufacturing survey this week has suggested any recovery is months away, with export orders in May shrinking for the fifth straight month.

Desperate Chinese exporters are now turning to the domestic market, and they are seeking out e-commerce and even social media mobile apps to lift their fortunes.

Given the heightened uncertainty, export goods manufacturers are opening online stores on the likes of Alibaba Group’s Taobao platform as well as JD.com and Pinduoduo, or turning to second-hand sites or sellers on social media app WeChat to offload their stock at bargain prices.