Reckitt Benckiser Plc is ramping up manufacturing in the US and China to bolster its supply chain and potentially lessen its exposure to fresh trade wars.

U.S. imports from China finished the year strong after some companies stockpiled shipments of apparel, toys, furniture and electronics ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's plan to impose new tariffs that could revive a trade war between the world's economic superpowers.

Shanghai and Guangdong, two of China’s major exporting regions, have set modest growth targets as leaders warn of ‘external factors’.