According to Chinese customs statistics, in the first quarter of this year, the trade volume of goods between China and the UK reached US $25.2 billion, up by 64.4% year on year. Imports from the United Kingdom were $6.54 billion, up 31.8 percent year on year. China was the UK's biggest source of imports for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Recently, British demand for Chinese machinery, electronic equipment and medical supplies has been growing. China is the first major economy to recover from the COVID-19 epidemic and the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth in 2020, according to an analysis by The Guardian. China has quickly restored production and living order and is capable of meeting the UK's import needs.

Since the second quarter of 2020, the UK has imported more goods from China than any other country, and the trend is on the rise. In 2020, trade in goods between China and the UK rose to $92.4 billion, a record high despite the spread of the epidemic and the continued downturn in international trade. Two-way investment between China and the UK has grown steadily. From January to June 2020, Chinese direct investment in the UK reached US $426 million, up 78% year on year. The UK has become China's second largest investment destination in Europe. Investment in the UK has expanded from traditional industries to new areas such as high-end manufacturing, information technology and cultural and creative industries. This fully reflects the huge potential of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

According to the analysis, due to the repeated epidemics, the economic recovery of EU countries is slow, and the uncertainty brought by the UK's "Brexit" has also led to a significant contraction in the UK-EU trade. In the post-Brexit and post-pandemic era, there is still great potential for China-UK cooperation. The UK and China have advanced technologies and experience in artificial intelligence, new energy and other fields, and can learn from and cooperate with each other, said Goo Keowen, the British government's trade commissioner for China.

"Cooperation, not confrontation, is the way forward for UK-China relations." Stephen Perry, chairman of the UK 48 Group Club, said the British business community hopes to strengthen trade with China. British companies face rare opportunities in areas such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, health care and climate change. The UK and China have every reason to leverage their respective strengths and work more closely together.