UK–China Export Pulse
UK exports to China, excluding precious metals, were £2.96bn in Q2 2026, down 11.0% on the same quarter of 2025. A quarterly read of HMRC's official trade statistics for UK exports to China, published by Cambridge China Bridge for UK exporters and for buyers in China. It updates automatically when HMRC publishes a new quarter.
Q2 2026, compared with Q2 2025
- UK exports to China (excluding precious metals)
- £2.96bn
- Change on a year earlier
- −11.0%
- Product chapters traded
- 91
Precious metals are counted separately
Precious metals and stones (HS chapter 71, mostly non-monetary gold) were a further £12.58bn in Q2 2026, up 255.6% on Q2 2025.Gold shipments are large and lumpy: they can be worth more than every other export to China put together in one quarter and a fraction of it the next. Left in, they would decide the headline on their own, so chapter 71 is kept out of every other figure on this page.
Data brief: Q2 2026
UK exports to China, excluding precious metals, were £2.96bn in Q2 2026, down 11.0% (£367m) on Q2 2025.
Top 3 rising headings
- Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells,… (HS 8481): £43m, up 38.2% from £31m
- Lasers (HS 9013): £18m, up 36.8% from £13m
- Waste and scrap, of copper (HS 7404): £244m, up 34.8% from £181m
Top 3 falling headings
- Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude (HS 2709): £105m, down 67.9% from £328m
- Fish, fresh or chilled (HS 0302): £15m, down 61.9% from £41m
- Pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device (HS 8413): £18m, down 41.1% from £30m
Headings (HS4) worth at least £10 million in both quarters, excluding chapter 71.
Among these six headings, value per kg runs from £0.75 for Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude to £424.72 for Lasers. Why £ per kg matters →
Cite as: Cambridge China Bridge, "UK–China Export Pulse", Q2 2026, https://camchinabridge.co.uk/uk-china-export-pulse/briefs/2026-q2/. Contains HMRC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open data:https://github.com/bonoxu/camchinabridge-open-data
What stands out
- UK exports to China, excluding precious metals, were £2.96bn in Q2 2026, down 11.0% on the same quarter of 2025.
- That ranks 7 of 8 Q2 totals since 2019.
- Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances was the largest chapter at £738m.
- The fastest-rising large heading was Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells,…, up 38.2% to £43m.
- The steepest fall was Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude, down 67.9% to £105m.
- Among the largest chapters, value per kg runs from £0.74 for Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation to £364.52 for Pharmaceutical products.
Every quarter since 2019
Across 2025 as a whole, UK exports to China excluding precious metals were £12.57bn, down 6.2% on 2024 and down 22.8% on 2019.
| Year | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Full year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | £3.43bn | £3.91bn | £4.64bn | £4.31bn | £16.29bn |
| 2020 | £3.06bn | £2.67bn | £3.29bn | £3.61bn | £12.64bn |
| 2021 | £3.72bn | £3.38bn | £3.41bn | £3.58bn | £14.09bn |
| 2022 | £3.18bn | £2.98bn | £3.42bn | £4.09bn | £13.68bn |
| 2023 | £2.90bn | £3.39bn | £3.13bn | £3.55bn | £12.97bn |
| 2024 | £2.99bn | £3.57bn | £3.38bn | £3.46bn | £13.40bn |
| 2025 | £2.95bn | £3.33bn | £3.09bn | £3.20bn | £12.57bn |
| 2026 | £2.50bn | £2.96bn | – | – | – |
| Year | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | £1.59bn | £1.89bn | £1.08bn | £2.29bn |
| 2020 | £534m | £290m | £323m | £373m |
| 2021 | £156m | £367m | £261m | £193m |
| 2022 | £192m | £1.25bn | £5.52bn | £7.93bn |
| 2023 | £2.05bn | £1.83bn | £5.23bn | £5.21bn |
| 2024 | £4.56bn | £5.11bn | £3.94bn | £9.98bn |
| 2025 | £5.94bn | £3.54bn | £3.29bn | £2.45bn |
| 2026 | £2.40bn | £12.58bn | – | – |
Quarterly totals on the same basis as the headline figure (excluding chapters 71 and 99), with precious metals in their own column. A full-year total appears once all four quarters are published.
The largest product chapters
| Code | Product | Value | Change | £ per kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances | £738m | +7.8% | £76.54 |
| 87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and… | £514m | −25.3% | £30.44 |
| 74 | Copper and articles thereof | £246m | +34.7% | £8.48 |
| 30 | Pharmaceutical products | £214m | −21.4% | £364.52 |
| 90 | Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking,… | £193m | −13.9% | £249.48 |
| 85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof | £176m | +7.6% | £119.39 |
| 27 | Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation | £129m | −62.0% | £0.74 |
| 39 | Plastics and plastic products | £72m | −2.7% | £9.58 |
| 22 | Beverages, spirits and vinegar | £58m | +11.0% | £5.91 |
| 38 | Miscellaneous chemical products | £58m | −8.0% | £9.41 |
| 88 | Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof | £56m | −8.1% | £251.36 |
| 02 | Meat and edible meat offal | £41m | −13.5% | £1.19 |
Fastest-rising headings
| Code | Product | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8481 | Taps, cocks, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells,… | £43m | +38.2% |
| 9013 | Lasers | £18m | +36.8% |
| 7404 | Waste and scrap, of copper | £244m | +34.8% |
| 8807 | Parts of aircraft and spacecraft of heading 8801, 8802 or 8806, n.e.s. | £55m | +33.0% |
| 3304 | Beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the… | £18m | +27.3% |
| 8411 | Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines | £453m | +26.7% |
| 8537 | Boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases, equipped… | £22m | +26.6% |
| 8414 | Air or vacuum pumps | £14m | +26.1% |
Steepest falls
| Code | Product | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2709 | Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude | £105m | −67.9% |
| 0302 | Fish, fresh or chilled | £15m | −61.9% |
| 8413 | Pumps for liquids, whether or not fitted with a measuring device | £18m | −41.1% |
| 8486 | Machines and apparatus of a kind used solely or principally for the… | £16m | −40.0% |
| 9012 | Electron microscopes, proton microscopes and diffraction apparatus | £10m | −36.4% |
| 8708 | Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport… | £19m | −35.5% |
| 9031 | Measuring or checking instruments, appliances and machines not… | £26m | −33.4% |
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the… | £460m | −29.2% |
Headings (HS4) worth at least £10 million in both quarters, excluding chapter 71.
Why £ per kg matters
Value per kilogram separates the UK's high-value exports to China (aero engines, medicines, instruments) from bulk flows such as copper scrap or crude oil, where freight and port costs take a bigger share of the price. A UK exporter can read it as a quick guide to whether a product travels best by air or as full sea containers, and a buyer in China as a guide to how much of the landed price is shipping.
Method and sources
- Source: HMRC overseas trade statistics, UK exports to China (non-EU exports, FlowTypeId 4), through HMRC's public trade data API.
- Values are in pounds sterling as HMRC records them. Confidential and unclassified lines (chapter 99) are excluded, and precious metals (chapter 71) are reported separately.
- HMRC revises recent months; the page is rebuilt monthly and always shows the latest figures HMRC has published.
- HMRC's overseas trade statistics differ from ONS balance-of-payments figures, which adjust for ownership and timing; use one series consistently.
Journalists and researchers may quote these figures with a link to this page. For comment on what they mean for UK exporters, contact us.
Download the figures (CSV)· Download the open dataset (GitHub)
Cite as: Cambridge China Bridge, "UK–China Export Pulse", Q2 2026, https://camchinabridge.co.uk/uk-china-export-pulse/. Contains HMRC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
See also
Monthly email
What changed for UK buyers from China, and when to act
One email at the start of each month. Every figure has an official source.
- Next month's HMRC customs exchange rates: USD, EUR, CNY
- Duty, anti-dumping and UK rule changes, with the date they apply
- Chinese New Year order deadlines, before they pass
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