China will encourage domestic makers of protective suits to meet surging foreign demand, to help in the global fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak, the nation's top industry regulator said on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said at a news conference that the daily production volume of domestic protective suit makers has exceeded demand in Central China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, in the past dozens of days.

But the supply of protective suits is still tight, and companies should not relax their minds, said Cao Xuejun, deputy director of the ministry's Consumer Products Industry Department.

Cao said the ministry will guide protective suit makers to increase their flexible production capabilities and manufacture their products according to demand.

Meanwhile, as some foreign countries are faced with a shortage of epidemic prevention goods, China will encourage domestic protective suit makers to actively meet the surging demand from overseas regions, Cao added.