General

In early May, the cargo ship "British pioneer" set sail from Ningbo by British all sea shipping company arrived at Liverpool port, England, which was the first return of the cargo ship on the "China Express" operated by all sea shipping. Goods from China are distributed from here to all parts of the UK. This is an epitome of the good trend of China UK trade development.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the UK. The industry generally believes that taking this opportunity, China UK economic and trade will usher in more new opportunities for win-win cooperation.

Trade development maintained a good momentum

It is understood that as a direct sea freight route connecting Shanghai and Liverpool, "China Express" was first opened in April 2021. The "China Express" has changed from a short-term temporary arrangement a year ago to a long-term fixed route. At present, the cargo ships between China and the UK on this route run every 10 days, and can carry 1500 ~ 1700 containers directly from Chinese ports such as Shanghai and Ningbo to Liverpool port within 30 days, instead of stopping in the middle, which greatly shortens the transportation time and improves the efficiency of cargo shipping between the two countries. Since its opening, the route has transported more than 60000 containers into and out of the UK, supporting more than 200 local enterprises.

"The rapid development of the 'China Express' confirms the high degree of interdependence of China UK Trade and the potential and resilience of bilateral trade development." Ni Yueju, a researcher at the Institute of world economy and politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the international business daily.

In recent years, the development of Sino British trade has maintained a good trend, and the epidemic has not reversed this trend. High cost-effective commodities from China have supported the British anti epidemic, helped the British people curb the pressure of rising prices, and products from the UK have helped to meet the diversified needs of China's huge consumer market. According to the data, in 2021, the bilateral trade volume of goods between China and the UK exceeded US $110 billion for the first time. China is the third largest trading partner and the largest source of goods imports of the UK.

In addition, Britain's "brexit" has also changed its trade composition to a certain extent. According to the latest data released by the UK National Bureau of statistics, compared with 2018 before the formal "brexit" process, the total UK commodity exports to the EU decreased by £ 20 billion in 2021. The latest data from the UK General Administration of Taxation and customs also shows that the number of UK enterprises exporting goods to the EU has decreased from 27321 in 2020 to 18357 in 2021. Some analysts said that the EU is Britain's largest trading partner. After brexit, British enterprises face many trade barriers when exporting goods to the EU, which also hinders trade growth.

Ni Yueju said that after brexit and under the epidemic, Britain's imports from the EU fell sharply, while China overtook Germany to become Britain's largest source of goods imports, and trade with China has also become an important driving force supporting Britain's economic growth.

China and the UK have broader opportunities

Over the past half century, although China UK relations have been bumpy, they have continued to develop on the whole. The trade volume between the two countries has increased from US $300 million to US $100 billion, and the stock of two-way investment has increased from almost zero to US $50 billion. In 2021, facing the ups and downs of the epidemic and the difficult recovery of the world economy, China UK economic, trade and investment cooperation still achieved contrarian growth.

Second to none is the breadth of economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK. In terms of investment, the stock of China UK two-way direct investment reached US $47.8 billion in 2021, an increase of nearly US $5 billion over that before the outbreak. The two sides have carried out more in-depth and extensive cooperation in finance, infrastructure, new energy and other fields. According to the data, in 2021, British investment in China increased by 22% and attracted Chinese investment by 246%. Chinese investment in Britain has become a new highlight of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The UK is one of the most popular investment destinations for global investors. Chinese enterprises attach importance to the UK market, deeply integrate British and Chinese enterprises with local society, earnestly fulfill their social responsibilities, promote the sustainable development of enterprises, and create a large number of local jobs directly or indirectly. It is worth mentioning that the two countries have close financial cooperation. In 2021, the offshore RMB clearing volume in London exceeded 60 trillion yuan; The central banks of the two countries renewed the bilateral local currency swap agreement, with a swap scale of 350 billion yuan in the next five years.

At the same time, China and the UK complement each other in economic structure and have great potential for economic and trade cooperation. The two sides believe that the two countries can continue to deepen cooperation in the fields of green economy, innovation, finance and other fields, and continue to expand cooperation in the fields of green goods, technology and health care.

Niyueju also said that in the future, China will accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, continuously improve the level of opening-up, further improve product quality, accelerate the development of the "the Belt and Road" and gradually show the trade transfer effect after the "brexit" of the UK, which will provide broader development opportunities and development space for China UK economic and trade cooperation. If China and the UK can start negotiations as soon as possible and sign the bilateral free trade agreement in due time, the bilateral mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation will set a new milestone and usher in the next "golden age".