The proportion of the UK's total trade with China continued to
fall in 2023 in what is a “clear shift” in
approach, new research by UK in a
Changing Europe (UKICE) finds.
The UKICE trade
tracker shows how in 2021, China made up 10.1% of UK
trade, which fell to 9.3% in 2022 and further to 7.9% in
2023.
Central to the post-Brexit trade strategy of ‘Global Britain' was
to expand trade with non-EU countries, including
China. However, the fall in trade with China could be due to
companies wanting to move supply chains away from sources
deemed potential national security
risks. Although, China's delayed opening after COVID could
also be a factor.
At the same time, the latest UKICE trade tracker finds that UK
trade with the EU amounted to 53.1% of total UK trade for 2023 -
the highest level since 2008. The US remains the UK's largest
trade partner, while seven of the UK's top 10 trade partners are
EU member states. Overall trade with the EU far exceeds that with
the US or any other individual country.
Further afield, trade with Turkey and India has seen “little to
no growth for more than five years'' while trade with Hong Kong
has continually decreased over the past five years.
Despite the signing of a new UK-Japan trade deal in 2020, trade
has also decreased in the past three years.
Stephen Hunsaker, author of the UKICE Trade
Tracker says: “The recent trend of
friend-shoring, decoupling and de-risking supply chain channels
has reduced the opportunities for the UK to expand its trade
reach."
Download the full report here.
Notes for Editors
UK in a Changing Europe is an academic think tank providing
impartial, research-based analysis of the critical issues facing
the UK and funded by the ESRC.
