On Thursday, 11 September, UK Secretary of State, The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, and China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held the first Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) trade talks since 2018 aimed at strengthening cooperation and addressing level playing-field concerns.  Prior to the JETCO, during the afternoon of Wednesday, 10 September, as part of the second UK-China Industrial Cooperation Dialogue, the Secretary of State also signed an agreement with Minister Li Lecheng of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The Department for Business and Trade’s official rundown of Mr Kyle’s visit can be found here.

JETCO

Discussions under JETCO covered bilateral and global trade issues and the importance of maintaining open dialogue.

Bilateral trade in services was a key focus, and the parties agreed to convene the second UK-China Trade in Services Working Group in November 2025, location to be agreed. According to CBBC data, UK service exports to China grew 25.9% YoY to £20.0 billion in the four quarters ending Q1 2025, while service imports from China grew 1.2% YoY to £8.1 billion, leaving the UK with an £11.9 billion surplus.

Both sides agreed to a series of MoUs demonstrating their commitment to deepen cooperation on trade issues within various sectors going forward, both at national and local levels. These included MoUs to set up a WTO Working Group, a Health Innovation Platform and Trade Remedies Exchange. MoUs were also established with Chongqing, Hangzhou and Fujian for UK industry participation in their healthcare systems. More MoUs are planned in six areas, namely technical and vocational education and training, cosmetics, sport, food safety, cultural and creative industries, and testing and certification.

CBBC understands that the discussions surrounding JETCO on the afternoon of 11 September lasted for several hours, covering a wide variety of topics from EVs to rare earths. A good working relationship was established between the new Secretary of State and his Chinese counterpart. Following the government-to-government talks, British business representatives had the opportunity to meet the senior leaders, including the CBBC Chief Executive, Peter Burnett, and report on their development in market, and the business environment in general.

Aside from the above, the most significant outcome is the fact that JETCO once again took place, after a hiatus of seven years, marking another milestone in the UK-China journey of reengagement over the last 14-months.

Following the JETCO, Peter Burnett said: “It was clear to me that the Secretary of State and the Minister of Commerce had established a good working relationship in their discussions and there are strong foundations to build on for the future”.
 

ICD/ICP

During the opening session of the ICD, an agreement was signed by both sides to establish working groups and sub-working groups dedicated to regulation within the automotive sector, industrial decarbonisation, and the digital economy. 

The second session of the ICD was devoted to the UK-China Industrial Cooperation Partnership (ICP), an initiative in which CBBC has played an active role as the UK secretariat since its inception in 2018. The ICP is focused on exchanges between government and business and this year featured representatives from Geely, COMAC, Hisense, bp, RELX and JLR. Secretary of State Peter Kyle and Minister of MIIT Li Lecheng presided over the exchange.

In addition to JETCO and ICD, DBT announced advances on a series of market access issues. These included regulatory breakthroughs and agreements for cooperation in the areas of pet food, lobsters, porcine genetics, animal skins, auto certification and testing, qualifications and sports.