How to export Glassware from the UK to China

Choose the route for each glassware item

For glassware and crystal, give the Chinese importer the material, intended use and product specification before agreeing the route. GACC Decree 280 concerns overseas food manufacturers, so its registration requirement does not apply to these goods. Have the importer confirm the product requirements for each item. The largest UK export line here was 70200005, quartz reactor tubes and holders designed for insertion into diffusion equipment, at £234k.

UK exports under HS 7013-7020 (14 subheadings): HMRC recorded £1.2m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 14 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £1.8m, -36.1%).

Under HS 7013-7020 (14 subheadings), UK exports were as follows: Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £790k. January to July 2026: £362k against £580k in the same months of 2025 (-37.6%). These totals cover the coded goods, including technical glass articles, rather than consumer glassware alone.

Price against the exact Chinese tariff line

The verified Chinese tariff lines have the MFN rates below. Ordinary drinking and tableware lines carry 7%, but glass beads, microspheres and other articles have different rates. HS6 702000 splits into several Chinese lines, including 70200091 at 20%. Get the importer’s classification before negotiating a supply price.

Import VAT normally uses the 13% rate, subject to the VAT Law’s exceptions. Its base is the customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer’s customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to the item. Duty and VAT add to landed cost and affect the price the importer can offer.

Prepare the UK export declaration

Exports from England, Scotland or Wales require a GB EORI and the correct UK commodity code for each item. The online export declaration needs the value, weight, packaging, destination, transport and invoice and packing list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any applicable export licences or certificates. Keep lead-crystal stemware, other drinking glasses and technical glass articles separately identified so the declarant can classify them correctly.

Use cross-border retail only for listed lines

The cross-border retail import list includes 70131000, 70132200, 70132800, 70133300, 70133700 and 70134100. Coverage is partial, so confirm the exact item’s eligibility before choosing this route. Listed goods entering through bonded 1210 or direct 9610 channels are supervised as personal-use articles; first-import licence, registration and filing requirements are not applied, subject to the specified epidemic-area and emergency-risk exceptions.

The overseas seller retains the main product quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company to register with customs, declare truthfully and share civil liability. Consumers must accept the risk notice before ordering; goods are for personal use and cannot be resold. The limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 annually per person. This route therefore needs a consumer sales plan rather than distributor replenishment.

Check the Chinese buyer before committing stock

Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached your brand, our staff check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed. For this range, agree which articles the buyer wants, the tariff classifications and whether the order is for distribution or cross-border consumer retail. Use our export-to-China service to arrange the checks.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China where required. The regulated roles stay with licensed partners in China, including the importer of record and the cross-border e-commerce agent where required. The brand’s own filings stay the brand’s. We check the proposed requirements with those partners before you commit the range.