We also welcome the Prime Minister’s intention to visit China next year, with the aim of strengthening UK-China trade, supporting Britain’s economic growth, and addressing other important bilateral and international issues.

For our member organisations, including FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 firms, as well as leading UK universities, China is a hugely important market. It is a key industrial and research partner, a vital source of students, and an important gateway to new technology, know-how, and innovation. Engagement with China is vital for employment and growth in the UK. Chinese businesses in the UK support more than 57,000 jobs, while over 350,000 jobs depend indirectly on trade between the UK and China with Hong Kong. Together, they account for £125 billion of UK exports annually and represent the UK’s fifth-largest export destination.

More broadly, China is the world’s second largest economy, the largest goods exporter, the second largest goods importer, has a 30% share of global manufacturing value-added, and is now a global leader across strategically significant fields, from advanced manufacturing to the clean technologies that will be essential to meeting net-zero targets. It is also opening up its rapidly developing services sector, which represents a huge opportunity for UK financial and professional services, the creative and cultural sector, and providers of education and healthcare services. CBBC firmly believes that unless the UK engages with China and addresses these opportunities, the UK will be unable to maintain its economic competitiveness.

CBBC also notes that other countries, including key UK allies such as the United States, France, and Germany, have continued high-level political engagement with China in recent years. We therefore welcome the UK’s renewed commitment to senior-level dialogue with China, which plays an important role in supporting UK businesses and institutions with commercial, investment, and educational links to China.

CBBC stands ready to work with the Government to ensure that the UK’s approach to China continues to pursue openness with security, strengthens economic opportunity, and serves the long-term interests of the country.

China-Britain Business Council
2nd December 2025