The ongoing coronavirus pandemic could bring major business disruptions to Chinese ship lessors due to both reduced demand and their exposure to the ailing aviation sector.

As global travel restrictions snowball the number of flights worldwide has decreased by about 40% and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says around 8,500 passenger aircraft – one third of the world’s total commercial passenger fleet – have been grounded over the past few weeks.

“In the aviation industr...