UK-China trading momentum to continue this year, say experts

LONDON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- As China was among the United Kingdom's (UK) largest trading partners in 2022 and with a steady increase in bilateral trade flows, experts are confident that this momentum will continue in 2023.

The UK's trade with China has continued to flourish, which reflects the strong and deep trade relationship between the two countries, John McLean, chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) London, has told Xinhua in a recent written interview.

In particular, services exports have increased, which is a testament to the UK's financial and insurance expertise and a reflection of the growing opportunities that now exist in China, McLean said.

Since China is among the UK's largest export markets, the UK benefits as more exports equal more jobs, which is good for the country's economy, McLean said.

UK-China trade in goods also increased in 2022, as China was the second largest trading partner in goods imports for the UK and the fifth largest in goods exports, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said earlier this month.

"With the opening up of travel and a resulting increase in people-to-people exchanges, I expect the overall UK exports to China to continue to grow," he noted, adding that he was "optimistic" that "the trade engagement between China and the UK will strengthen" this year.

This week in London, McLean, also chair of the UK-China Business Development Center, welcomed a delegation from the Chinese coastal city of Ningbo, which he said was an opportunity to strengthen business ties between the two sides.

In his welcome speech, McLean noted that over the last three years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, "we are now entering calmer COVID waters and for the UK it is now time to refresh our engagement with China and positively progress our bilateral relationship."

With UK's "strengths in finance, technology and innovation" and Ningbo's "developed economy and active international engagement" as "a vibrant city with a first-class port", he said, "We are full of confidence in continuing to promote cooperation between the UK and Ningbo."

Gordon C.K. Cheung, associate professor in international relations of China at Durham University, said he was also confident in the two countries' trade ties.

One way to understand the increase in UK exports to China was the impact of Brexit on UK's trade with the European Union (EU), Cheung told Xinhua in a written interview. "The UK is trying to export more goods and services to China to compensate for the loss on the EU front."

On the other hand, he added, although the geopolitical drumbeat was noticeable between the UK and China last year, the reality was that businesspeople were putting their money where their mouths were, and that was reflected clearly in the trading data.

Given that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already revised China's economic growth rate to 5.2 percent in 2023, the country's purchasing power should increase and therefore trade between the UK and China should improve in 2023, Cheung said.