China-UK ties highlighted at London event

Backed by the world's largest middle-income group and a supersized market, China has enormous potential to further expand imports from the United Kingdom, said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Wednesday.

Wang made the remarks at the "Big Market for All: Export to China" event in London. Jointly hosted by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Department for Business and Trade of the UK, the event brought together more than 300 attendees from the Chinese and British private and public sectors.

The "Big Market for All: Export to China" initiative, launched in Shanghai in November 2025, is part of China's push to broaden its opening-up, boost imports and foster more balanced trade growth.

The UK was the first country to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation under the initiative and is also one of the featured countries in the 2026 series, Wang noted.

The Ministry of Commerce selects five to eight annual partner countries each year to organize more than 100 import promotion activities under the initiative.

The UK's services sector is well positioned to expand exports to the Chinese market, Wang also noted. In 2025, bilateral trade in goods reached $103.7 billion, while trade in services surpassed $30 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter Kyle shared the same view as Wang, saying there is untapped potential in services exports. He said the UK has "lots to offer", particularly to Chinese businesses looking to grow and expand across the globe.

"That's what I want to see as our next steps: to get British services on Chinese businesses' speed dial, to bring China to the top of our companies' minds for expansion and ensure that, as Chinese companies go global, UK professional services companies are their first phone call," he said.

Kyle noted that China and the UK have agreed on a bilateral services partnership.

Feasibility study

According to the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson's remarks in February, the two sides signed one MoU on a bilateral services partnership and another on conducting a joint feasibility study for a China-UK trade in services agreement following UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to China in January.

"Serious engagement is back. By working together and talking together, both of our nations can prosper," Kyle said.

On Thursday in London, Wang and Kyle cochaired the 15th meeting of the China-UK Joint Economic and Trade Commission.

Zheng Zeguang, China's ambassador to the UK, said the British business community, in particular, has been "championing closer China-UK cooperation" for many years.

"This economic partnership is a win-win for both countries," he said. "Exports to China support half a million jobs in the UK. Chinese enterprises in the UK have created 56,000 jobs directly and 150,000 jobs indirectly. Imports from China can obviously help the UK to offset inflation, grow productivity, and advance the green transition."

The two countries' economies are complementary, Zheng also said, noting that China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) is "very much aligned" with the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy.

"China and the UK have all the more reason to step up collaboration," he said.

A series of partnerships and support measures were unveiled at the event to facilitate greater imports from the UK to China.

The China-Britain Business Council said it would work with the Ministry of Commerce to strengthen market intelligence sharing, business matchmaking, and export support.