Source: China Business News Network
At the beginning of May, the cargo ship "British Pioneer", which set sail from Ningbo, arrived at the Port of Liverpool in the UK. Goods from China are distributed from here to all parts of the UK. This is a microcosm of the sound development of Sino-British trade.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level between China and the UK. The industry generally believes that taking this opportunity, Sino-British economy and trade will usher in more new opportunities for win-win cooperation.
Trade development maintains a good momentum
It is understood that as a direct sea freight route connecting Shanghai and Liverpool, the "China Express" will be launched for the first time in April 2021. The "China Express Line" has changed from a short-term temporary arrangement a year ago to a long-term fixed route. Currently, cargo ships between China and the UK on this route run every 10 days, and can carry 1,500 cargo ships from Chinese ports such as Shanghai and Ningbo within 30 days. ~1,700 containers go directly to the Port of Liverpool, instead of stopping mid-way, which greatly shortens the transportation time and improves the efficiency of cargo shipping between the two countries. Since its opening, the route has transported more than 60,000 containers in and out of the UK, supporting more than 200 local businesses.
"The rapid development of the 'China Express Line' confirms the high degree of interdependence of Sino-British trade and the potential and resilience of bilateral trade development." Ni Yueju, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with a reporter from International Business Daily express.
In recent years, the development of Sino-British trade has maintained a good trend, and the epidemic has not reversed this trend. The cost-effective products from China have supported the UK's fight against the epidemic and helped the British people to curb the pressure of rising prices. The diverse needs of China's huge consumer market. The data shows that in 2021, the bilateral trade in goods between China and the UK will exceed US$110 billion for the first time. China is the UK’s third largest trading partner and the largest source of goods imports.
In addition, the "Brexit" of the United Kingdom has also changed its trade composition to a certain extent. The latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that total UK merchandise exports to the EU in 2021 will fall by £20bn compared to 2018, before the official Brexit process began. The latest figures from HMRC also show that UK businesses exporting to the EU have fallen from 27,321 in 2020 to 18,357 in 2021. Some analysts say that the EU is the UK's largest trading partner. After "Brexit", British companies face many trade barriers when exporting goods to the EU, which also hinders trade growth.
Ni Yueju said that after "Brexit" and under the epidemic, the UK's imports from the EU have fallen sharply, while China has surpassed Germany to become the UK's largest source of imports of goods, and trade with China has also become an important driving force to support the UK's economic growth.
More opportunities for China and the UK
Over the past half century, China-UK relations have been ups and downs, but the overall development has continued. The trade volume between the two countries has increased from 300 million US dollars to 100 billion US dollars, and the two-way investment stock has increased from almost zero to 50 billion US dollars. In 2021, in the face of the ups and downs of the epidemic and the difficult recovery of the world economy, China-UK economic and trade investment cooperation will continue to grow against the trend.
Second to none is the breadth of economic and trade cooperation between China and the UK. In terms of investment, the stock of two-way direct investment between China and the UK in 2021 will reach US$47.8 billion, an increase of nearly US$5 billion from before the outbreak. The two sides have carried out more in-depth and extensive cooperation in areas such as finance, infrastructure and new energy. Data shows that in 2021, the UK's investment in China will increase by 22%, and the investment in attracting Chinese investment will increase by 246%. China's investment in the UK has become a new highlight of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The UK is one of the most popular investment destinations for global investors. Chinese enterprises attach great importance to the British market, and in-depth integration of Chinese enterprises in the UK with the local society, earnestly fulfill their social responsibilities, promote the sustainable development of enterprises, and directly or indirectly create a large number of job opportunities for the local area. It is worth mentioning that the two countries have close financial cooperation. In 2021, the offshore RMB clearing volume in London will exceed 60 trillion yuan; the central banks of the two countries will renew the bilateral local currency swap agreement, and the swap scale will be 350 billion yuan in the next five years.
At the same time, China and the UK have complementary economic structures and huge potential for economic and trade cooperation. The industry generally believes that China and the UK can continue to deepen cooperation in traditional fields such as trade in goods, finance, manufacturing, and infrastructure construction, and at the same time continue to expand practical cooperation in areas such as medical care, green technology, green finance, new energy vehicles, digital economy, and creative industries. Cooperation, strive to develop third-party market cooperation, and create more new highlights of cooperation.
Ni Yueju also said that in the future, China's new development pattern will be accelerated, the level of opening to the outside world will continue to improve, product quality will be further improved, the superimposed joint construction of the "Belt and Road" will accelerate development, and the effect of trade transfer after the United Kingdom's "Brexit" will gradually appear. Provide broader development opportunities and development space for China-UK economic and trade cooperation. If China and the UK can negotiate as soon as possible and sign a bilateral free trade agreement at an appropriate time, the bilateral mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation will set a new milestone and usher in the next "Golden Era".
