Can I send technical drawings to China?
Before sharing drawings, assess the information against UK export control lists and check the recipient and intended use. Unlisted information can still need a licence under end-use controls. Pause disclosure while uncertainties are resolved and obtain any required licence. Supplier checks can be coordinated by Cambridge China Bridge.
Check before the quotation pack leaves
Technology can be transferred electronically, including by email. Treat the first quotation request as a disclosure checkpoint: do not wait until you order goods or ship a prototype. Exporting controlled items without the correct export licence is a criminal offence.
List what you intend to share: drawings, manufacturing instructions, material specifications, software and explanations during calls. Record the file revision, sender, intended recipients and their locations. As a precaution, hold attachments, shared-folder access and detailed technical discussions until the review is complete.
Classify the information you will disclose
Compare the actual information with the current UK strategic military and dual-use control lists. Ask your technical lead to document the relevant entries, definitions, technical thresholds and exclusions considered. Keep the reasoning with the exact file revision rather than accepting a supplier's statement that the finished product is ordinary commercial equipment.
You can use the control list classification advisory service to assess goods and technology against the UK strategic export control lists. Prepare a technical explanation of what the information enables someone to make or do, with supporting specifications. Ask for advice before disclosure if the classification remains uncertain.
Check the recipient and the eventual use
The government can require an export licence even where an item is absent from the consolidated control list. A conclusion that the information is unlisted therefore needs a separate end-use review. Ask who will use it, for what project, at which site and whether it will be passed to another organisation.
Use our supplier verification guide to establish the company behind the contact. Record the intended application, ultimate customer where known, subcontractors and proposed onward disclosure. Treat evasive answers or an unexplained change of recipient as reasons to pause and seek advice. Our sanctions checks guide covers the separate sanctions review.
Take unresolved questions to official advisers
Use the official sources listed below to reach the Export Control Joint Unit. Present classification and end-use questions separately: identify the files, technical function, recipient, destination and intended application. Explain any uncertainty about military use or weapons of mass destruction rather than asking only whether sending drawings to China is allowed.
Ask what further information is needed and which licensing route applies if permission is required. Keep disclosure on hold while the answer is unresolved. Before release, obtain any required licence and check its scope against the intended files, recipients and use. Keep advice and licence documents beside the release decision.
Working out your own order? Send us the product on WhatsApp and we reply the same working day: WhatsApp us
Make release a recorded sourcing decision
Assign someone in your business to approve the specific disclosure after reviewing classification, end use and any licence. Record what was released, to whom and why. Reopen the review when a drawing changes, a subcontractor joins or the proposed application changes. Do not use a confidentiality agreement or a passed factory audit as the basis for export-control approval.
Our factory audit guide covers manufacturing capability and subcontracting checks. Cambridge China Bridge's own staff in China can help establish supplier facts and coordinate the sourcing brief. Start with a non-sensitive description and identify the documents awaiting your export-control decision before circulating technical files.
Frequently asked questions
Do emailed drawings count as a technology transfer?
Technology can be transferred electronically, including by email. Review the information before sending it; an attachment can be part of the disclosure.
What if my drawings are not on a control list?
An export licence can still be required under end-use controls. Check the recipient and intended application, and seek official advice if concerns remain.
Can I send drawings just to get a factory quote?
Treat the quotation request as a disclosure checkpoint. Complete classification and end-use checks first, resolve uncertainty and obtain any required licence before releasing the files.
Who can help classify technical drawings?
The control list classification advisory service can assess goods and technology against UK strategic export control lists. Prepare the exact files and an explanation of their technical function.