SEVENTY-FIVE per cent of the 333 American Chamber of Commerce members polled in Shanghai said they oppose the US using tariffs against China - up from 69 per cent a year ago.

Fourteen per cent of those surveyed said they supported Trump's levies, an increase of five per cent, reported Bloomberg. AmCham conducted the survey with PwC Consulting Services in China from June 27 to July 25.

'We do support principally what the administration is trying to achieve here in terms of the US-China relationship - it is the tactic of tariffs that's actually what faces the most disagreement,' AmCham Shanghai president Ker Gibbs told reporters.

'The overall growth story, profit story, in the China market is fundamentally intact. Yes we have got some GDP growth issues, but this is an extremely attractive market,' said Mr Gibbs.

Twenty-nine per cent of those polled preferred dialogue and 24 per cent wanted more multilateral pressure with the EU and other groups.

Only seven per cent expect an improvement in trade relations within the next six months, compared to 36 per cent who said the situation would last for another one to three years.

Thirteen per cent said they expected trade tensions to continue for three to five years, and 17 per cent said they expected the situation to last indefinitely.