DONALD TRUMP says U.S. companies should leave China and return home. A new survey of U.S. businesses in the country shows most aren’t interested in taking him up on the offer.

Only about 4 percent of the more than 200 manufacturers surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said they will shift any production to the United States, according to a report released yesterday. More than 75 percent said they don’t intend to move production out of China, while 14 percent said they will shift some operations to other countries and 7 percent planned on relocating domestically and overseas.

“Southeast Asia is the most common destination,” said American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai President Ker Gibbs in an interview. “Definitely not the United States.”

More respondents became more pessimistic about the state of trade relations, with 26.9 percent saying trade tensions would last indefinitely, up from 16.9 percent last year. Another 22.5 percent expected tensions to last between three to five years, up from 12.7 percent in 2019.

Trump renewed his threat to U.S. companies Monday.

“We’ll impose tariffs on companies that desert America to create jobs in China and other countries,” Trump said.

American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai found most companies aren’t planning on cutting jobs in China, with more than two-thirds saying they would maintain or increase their staff levels. About 29 percent planned reductions, largely because of the pandemic, said Gibbs.

In August Trump signed an executive order announcing restrictions on WeChat, the popular app owned by Shenzhen-based Tencent Holdings Ltd. that many Chinese consumers and businesses use for cashless payments.

Trump’s order is due to go into effect Sept. 20 when the U.S. Commerce Department is likely to announce the scope of the curbs. American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai members are worried a broad application of the order may prohibit them from taking payments via WeChat in China, said Gibbs.

That could drive Chinese customers to non-American rivals, he said.

“Twitter, TikTok, those things are toys,” he said. “WeChat is deeply ingrained in the business ecosystem.”

Businesses are hopeful the U.S. Commerce Department will apply the restrictions in the United States and allow companies to use it in China, said Gibbs.

The Trump administration is debating the scope and effective date of its bans on WeChat and will make its decisions public later this month, Bloomberg News reported last week, quoting sources.

Almost 350 members of American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai participated in the report.(SD-Agencies)