The American Chamber of Commerce of China, citing a recent survey of members on tariffs, also said more than 40 per cent of respondents were considering or had relocated manufacturing facilities outside China.

Of the almost 250 respondents, conducted after China and the US raised tariffs on each other's imports this month, almost three quarters said the impact of tariffs was hurting their competitiveness.

About one third of companies said they were increasingly focusing their China operations on producing for Chinese customers and not for export.

Another third said they were delaying and cancelling investment decisions.

Members said they face increased obstacles such as government inspections, slower customs clearance and slower approval for licensing.

Long considered the ballast in a relationship fraught with geopolitical frictions, the US business community in China in recent years has advocated a harder line on what it sees as discriminatory Chinese trade policies.

Trade negotiations between the US and China have soured dramatically since early May, when Chinese officials sought major changes to the text of a proposed deal the Trump administration said had been largely agreed.

A subsequent round of talks ended with no movement as US President Donald Trump increased tariffs to 25 per cent from 10 per cent on $US200 billion worth of Chinese imports and threatened to impose duties on all remaining Chinese goods sold in the US. China duly imposed a retaliatory tariff increase.

The Trump administration followed up on Thursday by adding telecom equipment giant Huawei to a trade blacklist.

Australian Associated Press