UK–China trade: July 2026
UK imports from China were £6.33bn in July 2026, up 19.4% compared with July 2025. UK exports to China, excluding precious metals (HS chapter 71), were £1.20bn in July 2026, down 16.3% compared with July 2025.
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UK imports from China
| Month / Year to date (January to the note month) | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | 6,329,617,514 | 5,299,189,127 | +1,030,428,387 | +19.4% |
| Year to date (January to the note month) | 39,190,511,150 | 35,041,597,926 | +4,148,913,224 | +11.8% |
HS chapters: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | 1,122,744,063 | 590,228,473 | +532,515,590 | +90.2% |
| 84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof | 1,132,421,081 | 941,195,184 | +191,225,897 | +20.3% |
| 85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles | 1,146,758,607 | 1,039,312,606 | +107,446,001 | +10.3% |
| 94 | Furniture; medical and surgical furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports,cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified; illuminated signs, illuminated name-plates and the like; prefabricated b | 378,176,039 | 336,037,295 | +42,138,744 | +12.5% |
| 76 | Aluminium and articles thereof | 86,003,938 | 45,639,011 | +40,364,927 | +88.4% |
HS chapters: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes | 68,701,092 | 93,809,883 | -25,108,791 | -26.8% |
| 27 | Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes | 32,867,380 | 57,093,536 | -24,226,156 | -42.4% |
| 62 | Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted | 114,764,223 | 135,789,399 | -21,025,176 | -15.5% |
| 64 | Footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles | 69,708,062 | 88,182,647 | -18,474,585 | -21.0% |
| 30 | Pharmaceutical products | 23,246,563 | 27,557,311 | -4,310,748 | -15.6% |
HS4 headings: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of <10 persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) | 988,381,114 | 414,998,400 | +573,382,714 | +138.2% |
| 8411 | Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines | 128,071,986 | 74,326,650 | +53,745,336 | +72.3% |
| 8471 | Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, n.e.s. | 440,377,604 | 394,600,315 | +45,777,289 | +11.6% |
| 7606 | Plates, sheets and strip, of aluminium, of a thickness of > 0,2 mm (excl. expanded plates, sheets and strip) | 40,092,532 | 5,026,179 | +35,066,353 | +697.7% |
| 8473 | Parts and accessories (other than covers, carrying cases and the like) suitable for use solely or principally with machines of heading 8469 to 8472, n.e.s. | 49,716,215 | 15,215,726 | +34,500,489 | +226.7% |
HS4 headings: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8702 | Motor vehicles for the transport of >= 10 persons, incl. driver | 3,831,180 | 44,949,594 | -41,118,414 | -91.5% |
| 2404 | Products containing tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, nicotine, or tobacco or nicotine substitutes, intended for inhalation without combustion; other nicotine containing products intended for the intake of nicotine into the human body | 68,701,092 | 93,809,883 | -25,108,791 | -26.8% |
| 2710 | Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; was | 31,645,060 | 55,383,541 | -23,738,481 | -42.9% |
| 8704 | Motor vehicles for the transport of goods, incl. chassis with engine and cab | 661,548 | 19,739,227 | -19,077,679 | -96.6% |
| 8501 | Electric motors and generators (excl. generating sets) | 13,820,629 | 25,641,626 | -11,820,997 | -46.1% |
UK exports to China (excluding HS chapter 71)
| Month / Year to date (January to the note month) | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | 1,199,684,964 | 1,433,139,691 | -233,454,727 | -16.3% |
| Year to date (January to the note month) | 6,661,950,154 | 7,713,219,095 | -1,051,268,941 | -13.6% |
| Chapter 71 separately: month | 3,549,977,943 | 1,219,236,559 | +2,330,741,384 | +191.2% |
| Chapter 71 separately: year to date | 18,532,790,960 | 10,693,588,023 | +7,839,202,937 | +73.3% |
Precious metals and stones (HS chapter 71, mostly non-monetary gold) are counted separately. Gold shipments are large and lumpy. Left in, they would decide the headline on their own, so chapter 71 is kept out of export headline totals and movers.
HS chapters: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof | 313,519,328 | 270,913,406 | +42,605,922 | +15.7% |
| 74 | Copper and articles thereof | 91,868,330 | 53,174,567 | +38,693,763 | +72.8% |
| 85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles | 73,223,993 | 53,350,716 | +19,873,277 | +37.3% |
| 88 | Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof | 29,217,703 | 18,440,835 | +10,776,868 | +58.4% |
| 22 | Beverages, spirits and vinegar | 19,969,714 | 14,969,356 | +5,000,358 | +33.4% |
HS chapters: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes | 15,452,093 | 229,270,007 | -213,817,914 | -93.3% |
| 87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof | 283,797,688 | 388,320,690 | -104,523,002 | -26.9% |
| 30 | Pharmaceutical products | 69,632,668 | 95,168,766 | -25,536,098 | -26.8% |
| 90 | Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof | 82,036,527 | 91,345,287 | -9,308,760 | -10.2% |
| 21 | Miscellaneous edible preparations | 11,033,634 | 14,887,526 | -3,853,892 | -25.9% |
HS4 headings: five largest rises in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8411 | Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines | 194,901,404 | 145,641,268 | +49,260,136 | +33.8% |
| 7404 | Waste and scrap, of copper (excl. ingots or other similar unwrought shapes, of remelted copper waste and scrap, ashes and residues containing copper, and waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries and electric accumulators) | 90,981,172 | 52,257,681 | +38,723,491 | +74.1% |
| 8807 | Parts of aircraft and spacecraft of heading 8801, 8802 or 8806, n.e.s. | 29,025,586 | 17,172,160 | +11,853,426 | +69.0% |
| 2208 | Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength of < 80%; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages (excl. compound alcoholic preparations of a kind used for the manufacture of beverages) | 18,831,073 | 14,517,364 | +4,313,709 | +29.7% |
| 8408 | Compression-ignition internal combustion piston engine "diesel or semi-diesel engine" | 23,684,845 | 19,560,256 | +4,124,589 | +21.1% |
HS4 headings: five largest falls in pounds
| HS code | HMRC description | Value (£) | Same period a year earlier (£) | Change (£) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2709 | Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude | 0 | 212,146,448 | -212,146,448 | -100.0% |
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of <10 persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) | 277,066,302 | 373,483,068 | -96,416,766 | -25.8% |
| 3004 | Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses "incl. those for transdermal administration" or in forms or packings for retail sale (excl. goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) | 57,685,959 | 80,592,033 | -22,906,074 | -28.4% |
| 8486 | Machines and apparatus of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of semiconductor boules or wafers, semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits or flat panel displays; machines and apparatus specified in note 11 C to chapter | 10,723,439 | 22,340,192 | -11,616,753 | -52.0% |
| 9030 | Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking electrical quantities (excl. meters of heading 9028); instruments and apparatus for measuring or detecting alpha, beta, gamma, X-ray, cosmic or other ioni | 11,666,049 | 20,631,044 | -8,964,995 | -43.5% |
Method and source
Source: HMRC overseas trade statistics (OTS), CountryId 720 (China), FlowTypeId 3 (non-EU imports) and FlowTypeId 4 (non-EU exports). Figures cover goods, in nominal GBP; they are not seasonally adjusted or adjusted for inflation. They do not cover services.
Each month is compared with the same calendar month a year earlier. Year-to-date figures cover January through the note month in each year. Chapter 99 and unclassified codes are excluded from totals and tables. As on the Export Pulse, precious metals (HS chapter 71) are excluded from export monthly and year-to-date headline totals and changes, chapter movers and all HS4 heading movers under 71, and reported separately. Imports include chapter 71, as on the Import Pulse.
Movers are ranked by the absolute change in pounds, with positive and negative changes listed separately, up to five per table. A chapter or heading must have a value of at least £10 million in either comparison month. Products traded in only one month are included; a zero prior value has no percentage change. Ties are ordered by HS code. Descriptions follow HMRC, as on the Import Pulse.
HMRC may revise earlier figures. Rebuilding a month replaces that month's note with the latest available figures. The revision date below changes only when the data changes. Earlier notes are retained at their own URLs.
HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics · HMRC OTS API
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