Our CEO and founder, Ting Zhang had a lot to say on the subject of UK|China trade when she was interviewed by Business Leader magazine this week. Is the UK’s fear of the Chinese state justified, or is paranoia preventing a lucrative partnership with the world’s second-largest economy?
The economic opportunity in China for UK businesses
The size of China’s economy makes it undoubtedly attractive, and despite its recent GDP growth falling slightly short of expectations, growing just 0.8% from April to June, it remains an excellent prospect for more UK businesses to get involved in. Many UK firms appear to have already woken up to this fact.
According to Ting Zhang, the CEO of Crayfish.io, a company that provides commercial as well as cultural help and guidance to companies and institutions wishing to do business with China, despite the political tensions between the two countries, the latest UK official statistics show that, in 2022, the total trade in goods and services between the UK and China increased by 18.3% since 2021.
“So far in 2023, the upward trend in bilateral trade looks to be continuing, with business visits happening in both directions – and, with six months of the year still to go, we can be hopeful that trade will continue to grow between the UK and China for the export of both goods and services,” continues Zhang.
Whilst trade between the two is rising, the biggest opportunity for the UK arguably lies in increasing the amount of goods it supplies to China. According to the latest figures from the Department for Business and Trade, the UK’s total trade deficit with China in 2022 was £35.8bn. This is due to a trade in goods deficit of £42.7bn and a trade in services surplus of £6.9bn.
As the UK is a more service-based economy, this figure may not come as too much of a surprise. However, Zhang says that rethinking the UK’s relationship with China and supplying more to the country could create more prosperity.
You can read the article in full at:
UK-China trade: Is security paranoia preventing a lucrative partnership?