Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that, according to the British National Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter, China became Britain’s largest supplier. This broke Germany’s number one position which it had held since 1997. In the first quarter, imports from China increased by 66 percent, to 16.9 billion pounds. In the meantime, imports from Germany declined by a quarter to 12.5 billion pounds. The increase on the China side was the direct result of the high demand for the personal protection products (PPP) for the pandemic. The German decline was largely caused by the shrinking car sales, also due to the pandemic. At the moment, the top five importing countries for the UK are China, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands and Belgium. China’s exports to Britain are mainly in three categories: machinery products, electronic equipment, and various chemical products. Britain’s exports to China grew mainly in the areas of machinery and transportation equipment. In addition to cars and fossil fuels, British exports also include products in the pharmaceutical industry and material manufacturing. London is the one city alone that has ranked number five among all British exporting areas.
Source: Sina, May 27, 2021
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2021-05-27/doc-ikmxzfmm4907145.shtml