Logistics firms relocating Chinese staff ahead of Trump presidency: Several global logistics companies are relocating Chinese staff as more manufacturers there prepare to expand overseas in preparation for tighter trading conditions with the US under the incoming Donald Trump presidency, the Financial Times reports. With Trump threatening to impose a 50% tariff on goods from top trading partner China, logistics executives say they expect Chinese manufacturers to continue to export from other countries. Emerging production hubs — including Vietnam and Thailand — are inviting a large number of Chinese manufacturers with labor-intensive business.

Who’s going where? France’s CMA CGM, Switzerland’s Kuehne+Nagel, and Germany’s DHL are reportedly redeploying Chinese staff to Europe, southeast Asia, and Latin America — destinations that have been poised for a “China-plus-one” diversification strategy aimed at boosting Chinese customer services abroad. CMA CGM’s logistics arm CEVA has recently set up a “China desk” in Europe with Mandarin-speaking staff, while Kuehne+Nagel indicated it had moved Chinese staff to Hungary and Slovenia in recent years. DHL has also been integrating more Mandarin-speaking staff over the past few months and deployed some to Vietnam and Indonesia, with plans to expand to Europe and Mexico.

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