UK imports from China were £16.19bn in Q2 2026, up 13.0% (£1.86bn) on Q2 2025.
Top 3 rising headings
Structures and parts of structures (HS 7308): £288m, up 296.7% from £73m
Engines and motors (HS 8412): £36m, up 184.2% from £13m
Air conditioning machines comprising a motor-driven fan and elements… (HS 8415): £51m, up 109.3% from £25m
Top 3 falling headings
Motor vehicles for the transport of >= 10 persons (HS 8702): £12m, down 82.1% from £66m
Video game consoles and machines, table or parlour games (HS 9504): £83m, down 58.4% from £199m
Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus… (HS 9030): £12m, down 51.8% from £24m
Change on Q2 2025, top 3 rising and falling headings
Structures and parts of structures+296.7%
Engines and motors+184.2%
Air conditioning machines comprising a motor-driven fan and elements…+109.3%
Motor vehicles for the transport of >= 10 persons−82.1%
Video game consoles and machines, table or parlour games−58.4%
Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus…−51.8%
Headings (HS4) worth at least £10 million in both quarters.
Among these six headings, value per kg runs from £2.79 for Structures and parts of structures to £34.40 for Oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and other instruments and apparatus… Why £ per kg matters →
Cite as: Cambridge China Bridge, "UK–China Import Pulse", Q2 2026, https://camchinabridge.co.uk/uk-china-import-pulse/briefs/2026-q2/. Contains HMRC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open data:https://github.com/bonoxu/camchinabridge-open-data
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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