UK- China Trade & Investment Statistics:
January-March 2009
Progress by the end of March 2009 on the headline targets to be achieved by 2010:
· UK-China bilateral trade in goods targeted $60bn by the year 2010, total to the end of March US$7.7bn.
· 6 Chinese companies are now listed on the London Stock Exchange, and 56 are listed on AIM. (Target: 100 more Chinese Inward Investment Projects by 2010)
Trade in Goods
Highlights Year to date (March)
· Bilateral trade between UK and China is $7.7 billion
· UK exports to China down 33% to US$1.52 billion
· UK importsfrom China down 19% to US$6.19 billion
· China’s total trade in goods up 17% to US$2.56 trillion for the year 2008.
· China’s overall trade surplus up 13% to US$295bn for the year 2008.
Sources: Chinese Customs/MOFCOM
China’s total trade in goods for 2008 was US$2562bn (up 18%), imports US$1133bn (up 19%) and exports US$1429bn (up 17%). The overall trade surplus reached US$295bn (up 13%).
In 2008, UK-China trade in goods was US$45.62 billion, up 15.7% compared with 2007. China exports to UK for 2008 was US$36.07 billion, up by 13.9%, and China imports from UK was US$9.55 billion, up by 22.9%.
The trade in goods between UK and China for the first three months of 2009 is US$7.7 billion. UK export value to China reached US$1.52 billion (down 33%). The UK’s main exports to China by sector are electrical/mechanical equipment, precision instruments, vehicles, plastics, wood pulp and pharmaceuticals. And UK’s imports valued at US$6.19 billion (down 19%). China’s main exports to the UK are electrical/mechanical equipment, clothing and footwear, toys and furniture, followed by plastics ad items manufactured from iron/steel.
Source UK HM Revenue and Customs
From Jan to Mar 2009 UK exports of goods to China going down by 10% to £1.04 billion. China is the UK’s 9th largest market for export of goods (cf. India 17th, Japan 12th).
UK imports from China over the period of Jan to Mar 2009 increased 13% to £5.24 billion. China is the UK’s 4th largest source of imported of goods.
Trade through Hong Kong
From Jan to Mar 2009, UK re-exports to China via Hong Kong were £122.11 million, down 50% compared with the same period 2008. The UK re-imports from China via Hong Kong were £1.09 billion, down by 17%.
Trade in Services (ONS for all figures)
Highlights Year to Date (March)
· UK is the second largest exporter of services to China in 2006.
· UK exports of services to China decline 0.9% in 2007.
· UK imports of services from China increased 23% in 2007.
· Exports of insurance and financial services increased by 8.6% in 2007.
In 2007, UK exports of services to China declined by 0.9% to £1.398 billion compared with £1.411bn in 2006. UK imports of services from China rose 23% to £1.001 billion, compared to £811m in 2006.
In 2006, the UK was the second largest exporter of services to China, with exports of EUR 2.14 billion, behind Germany (EURO 2.5 billion) (Source: Eurostat)
Foreign Direct Investment in China (Source Chinese Customs/MOFCOM)
Highlights Year to Date (March)
· Cumulatively, the UK is the No. 1 EU investor in China with total realised investment value of US$15.82 billion as at end of March 2009.
· The realised FDI value of UK investment decreased by 46% for the first three months of 2009.
Cumulatively, UK is the No. 1 EU investor in China, with a total realised investment value of US$15.82 billion and 6264 projects at the end of March 2009. Whereas Germany, the total realised investment is US$15.31 billion with 6353 projects at the end of March 2009.
For the first three months of 2009 the UK was China’s fourth largest EU investor, and 14thlargest overall investor in China in terms of realised FDI value.
UK's Investment in China | |
Country | Realised Value | No. of Projects |
HK | 10387.93 | 2049 |
Virgin Island | 3012.71 | 135 |
Singapore | 1143.87 | 135 |
Japan | 981.05 | 270 |
Cayman Island | 843.22 | 32 |
South Korea | 664.45 | 302 |
West Samoa | 600.26 | 46 |
USA | 575.39 | 282 |
Taiwan | 379.30 | 433 |
Mauritius | 355.88 | 16 |
Barbados | 255.48 | 3 |
Netherlands | 243.08 | 27 |
Germany | 229.20 | 77 |
UK | 124.92 | 65 |
Canada | 189.61 | 84 |
Source: Invest in China | |
Unit: million USD | |
Chinese Investment in UK(Source UKTI)
· 6 Chinese companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange main board and a further 56 on AIM.
· Mofcom figure confirmed that UK is the No. 1 destination for Chinese investment into EU. By the end of March 2009, Chinese investment into UK by stock was US$972 million. (US$930 million to Germany).
UKTI Beijing
May 2009
