How to export mobile phones from the UK to China

Choose the route for your phones and equipment

For mobile phones and telecoms equipment, start with the model’s function and technical specification. The CCC reference table includes some products in this group; confirm with the Chinese authority or licensed partners whether the model needs certification before import. Distinguish a shipment for a distributor from a cross-border retail sale: the retail list covers only specified Chinese tariff lines, and those purchases are for personal use.

Under HS 8517-8517 (9 subheadings): HMRC recorded £55.0m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 9 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £51.6m, +6.5%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £213.8m.

January to July 2026: £31.0m against £25.5m in the same months of 2025 (+21.7%). These are UK exports under the same HS codes. The largest UK export line to mainland China in 2025 was 85176200, reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration equipment, at £33.3m under HS 851762. That total covers the tariff line, rather than phones alone.

Price against the Chinese tariff line and VAT

The verified MFN duty rate is 0% for all the listed Chinese lines across these HS6 headings, including smartphones at 85171300, cordless telephones at 85171100 and equipment at 85176299. Import VAT is generally 13%, subject to statutory exceptions. Its base is customs value plus duty plus any consumption tax; the importer’s customs adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies. These border charges shape landed cost and the price an importer can offer.

Check CCC coverage and equipment safety

The verified CCC reference table includes cordless terminals at 8517110010 and 8517110090, mobile user terminals at 8517629200 and 8517629300, and data terminals including 8517622100 and 8517622200. These entries specify third-party certification. Match the actual device to the catalogue description as well as the code. Where approval is required, allow months, not weeks; the Chinese authority decides the outcome.

GB 4943.1-2022 is the current mandatory safety standard for audio/video, information technology and communication technology equipment, effective from 2023-08-01. Prepare the model specifications and available safety evidence for the applicable assessment. For equipment at 8517629900, the CCC reference entry for audio/video recording, playback and processing equipment names third-party certification or self-declaration evaluation; confirm which route applies to your model.

Resolve UK controls before quoting

The UK dual-use control list includes telecommunications and information security in category 5. Whether your device is controlled depends on its technical specification. Classify it against the UK Strategic Export Control Lists before quoting, so a commercial offer does not get ahead of the export-control assessment.

For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, obtain a GB EORI and the correct commodity code. The online export declaration needs value, weight, packaging, destination, transport and invoice and packing-list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any applicable export licences or certificates. Agree who will submit the declaration for the particular shipment.

Use cross-border retail only for listed devices

The retail import list includes smartphones at 85171300, wireless telephones at 85171410 and 85171490, walkie-talkies at 85171420, wireless earphones at 85176294 and other specified reception, conversion and transmission equipment at 85176299. Under bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail channels, listed goods receive personal-use supervision without first-import licence, registration or filing requirements, subject to the stated epidemic-area and emergency-risk exceptions. Confirm the model’s treatment before choosing this route.

The overseas retail business retains primary quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Consumers must accept a risk notice covering possible differences from Chinese standards, possible absence of Chinese labels and personal use without resale. The limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 annually per person.

Check the importer before committing stock

Ask a prospective distributor which models it wants, whether it plans wholesale distribution or personal-use retail sales, and how it will handle the applicable CCC assessment. Have the importer’s customs broker confirm the Chinese tariff line and import treatment against the model specification before you agree the shipment.

Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached you, our staff in China check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed. Use our export-to-China service to arrange that work.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. The importer of record and, where required, the cross-border e-commerce agent remain with licensed partners in China; the brand’s own filings stay the brand’s. We check the applicable requirements with those partners.