US companies are starting to cut their reliance on Chinese supply chains and seek out alternative shipping routes in Asia as relations between the two superpowers deteriorate, according to the head of one of the world’s biggest container companies.Rodolphe Saadé, chief executive of France’s CMA CGM, predicted that the overhaul would take several years because potential beneficiaries like India, or south-east Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, still lack the infrastructure to accommodate the very largest container ships.

“We have clients telling us they do not want to put all their eggs in one basket in China, so they are looking for other solutions,” he said in an interview.

“The movement has begun, but not yet at large volumes. It will take time. Maybe in five or 10 years, if India and south-east Asia build port terminals that can accommodate large ships, then they will play a different, bigger role,” he added. Saadé did not name any of the US companies.