Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed UK-China bilateral services partnership on trends in the level of UK service exports.

The UK‑China Bilateral Services Partnership (BSP) is designed to deliver high‑value benefits for UK businesses in the world’s second-largest services import market.

UK services exports to China rose 81% in current prices between 2016 and 2024. However, in 2024 the UK had nearly a three times greater share of the global services import market (at 8.0%) than of China’s market (at 2.6%) [ONS and UNCTAD data].

The BSP therefore aims to help UK firms access China’s large and expanding services market. It is a mechanism to push for improved market access as well as deliver practical support to help drive UK services exports to China, supporting growth.