Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of UK exports of goods and services to China.

UK exports of goods and services to China in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2018 were £22.4bn, up 4.9% from the four quarters to the end of Q3 2017. From 2010 to 2017, total UK exports of goods and services to China increased by 112.1%.

The Department, in line with the Export Strategy, is focused on overcoming barriers to help UK businesses maximise export potential in China.

Our International Trade Advisers work with chambers of commerce and others to support businesses to export to China.

We are committed to improving market access, prioritising those barriers that significantly impact UK exports. We are working with our Chinese counterparts to remove these, opening up new opportunities for UK businesses. We recently helped major British energy companies gain trading licences in China, which is likely to generate billions of pounds in revenues over the next decade. Subsequently, a number of British companies are looking to increase their presence in China, with one company looking to operate around 1,500 petrol stations in China by 2025 and another aiming to add 1,000 petrol stations in China over the next five years.