UK–China Import Pulse
A quarterly read of HMRC's official trade statistics for UK imports from China, published by Cambridge China Bridge. It updates automatically when HMRC publishes a new quarter.
Q2 2026, compared with Q2 2025
- UK imports from China
- £16.19bn
- Change on a year earlier
- +13.0%
- Product chapters traded
- 96
What stands out
- UK imports from China were £16.19bn in Q2 2026, up 13.0% on the same quarter of 2025.
- Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof was the largest chapter at £3.57bn.
- The fastest-rising large heading was Structures and parts of structures, up 296.7% to £288m.
- The steepest fall was Motor vehicles for the transport of >= 10 persons, down 82.1% to £12m.
The largest product chapters
| Code | Product | Value | Change | £ per kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof | £3.57bn | +4.4% | £14.01 |
| 84 | Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances | £2.89bn | +7.8% | £8.98 |
| 87 | Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and… | £2.13bn | +64.1% | £7.53 |
| 94 | Furniture | £1.05bn | +3.5% | £2.95 |
| 73 | Articles of iron or steel | £670m | +56.6% | £2.45 |
| 39 | Plastics and plastic products | £515m | +7.7% | £2.30 |
| 95 | Toys, games and sports requisites | £491m | −14.8% | £4.76 |
| 90 | Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking,… | £356m | +4.6% | £21.03 |
| 61 | Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted | £291m | +1.7% | £15.47 |
| 29 | Organic chemicals | £262m | +22.6% | £2.72 |
| 62 | Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted | £261m | −6.7% | £19.97 |
| 40 | Rubber and articles thereof | £242m | +20.7% | £2.29 |
Fastest-rising headings
| Code | Product | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7308 | Structures and parts of structures | £288m | +296.7% |
| 8412 | Engines and motors | £36m | +184.2% |
| 8415 | Air conditioning machines comprising a motor-driven fan and elements… | £51m | +109.3% |
| 8703 | Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the… | £1.75bn | +92.3% |
| 8711 | Motorcycles | £45m | +76.8% |
| 4803 | Toilet or facial tissue stock, towel or napkin stock and similar… | £19m | +72.5% |
| 3824 | Prepared binders for foundry moulds or cores | £18m | +71.1% |
| 1602 | Prepared or preserved meat, meat offal, blood or insects | £54m | +64.3% |
Steepest falls
| Code | Product | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8702 | Motor vehicles for the transport of >= 10 persons | £12m | −82.1% |
| 9504 | Video game consoles and machines, table or parlour games | £83m | −58.4% |
| 9030 | Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus… | £12m | −51.8% |
| 6210 | Garments made up of felt or nonwovens, whether or not impregnated,… | £11m | −50.3% |
| 9402 | Medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture, | £10m | −31.7% |
| 8409 | Parts suitable for use solely or principally with internal combustion… | £48m | −29.3% |
| 8433 | Harvesting or threshing machinery | £52m | −26.4% |
| 8423 | Weighing machinery | £10m | −26.1% |
Headings (HS4) worth at least £10 million in both quarters.
Why £ per kg matters
Freight is charged on space, so low-value, bulky goods (furniture, steel articles, paper) are hard to import in small part-container loads without the landed cost rising sharply. High-value, dense goods absorb freight easily. Value per kilogram is a quick way to see which categories suit small trial orders and which reward full containers.
Method and sources
- Source: HMRC overseas trade statistics, UK imports from China (non-EU imports), through HMRC's public trade data API.
- Values are in pounds sterling as HMRC records them. Confidential and unclassified lines (chapter 99) are excluded.
- HMRC revises recent months; the page is rebuilt monthly and always shows the latest figures HMRC has published.
- Weight-based £ per kg ranks categories; it does not measure freight cost directly, which depends on volume.
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