Background: Trade between China and UK  

According to the statistics of H.M. revenue and customs, from January to September 2019, the bilateral trade volume of goods between UK and China was 61.93 billion US dollars, up 0.9%. Among them, UK’s exports to China reached US $21.58 billion, down 3.5%, accounting for 6.2% of UK’s total exports, up 0.3 percentage points; UK’s imports from China reached US $40.34 billion, up 3.4%, accounting for 8.1% of UK’s total imports, up 0.1 percentage points. UK’s trade deficit was US $18.76 billion, an increase of 12.7%. As of September, China was the fifth largest export market and the third largest source of imports for UK.
            

The top four commodities exported by UK to China are precious metals and products, mineral products, transportation equipment and mechanical and electrical products. From January to September, the exports were US $5.87 billion, US $4.33 billion, US $2.81 billion and US $2.46 billion respectively, accounting for 27.2%, 20.1%, 13.0% and 11.4% of UK’s total exports to China. Precious metals and products, transportation equipment and mechanical and electrical products decreased by 5.2%, 38.3% and 7.2% respectively, and mineral products increased by 35.5%.

The top three commodities imported by UK from China are mechanical and electrical products, furniture toys, textiles and raw materials. From January to September, the imports were US $14.84 billion, US $5.90 billion and US $4.23 billion, accounting for 36.8%, 14.6% and 10.5% of the total imports from China. Mechanical and electrical products and furniture toys increased by 7.1% and 6.8% respectively, while textiles and raw materials decreased by 6.2%. In addition, base metals and products, plastic rubber and chemical products are also important commodities imported from China by UK. China has a greater advantage in labor-intensive products. It is the largest source of imports of British textiles and raw materials, furniture toys, footwear and umbrella leather products, accounting for 18.9%, 40.7% and 24.7% of UK’s import market share. 

The above data are from the website of the Ministry of Commerce of China. It can be seen that the international trade between China and UK is very close. I think it is necessary to write a transport guide for Chinese exports to UK to help importers and exporters.

1.Several transportation routes from China to UK

The transportation modes can be mainly divided into sea, air and land, and the detail from China to UK is classified as follows:

1) Air freight from China to UK (including express delivery)

2) Sea freight from China to UK(including FCL, LCL and bulk shipping)

3) Land transportation from China to UK (mainly railway)

So how to choose the specific mode of transportation? We think it mainly depends on the following factors. 

1) Cost

Generally speaking, air transportation (including express delivery) is the most expensive, followed by rail and road transportation, and the cheapest is water transportation.

2) Time

If the delivery time is tight and the sea freight cannot meet the requirement. In this case, air or rail transport will be chosen.

3) Cargo characteristics

When choosing the mode of transport, the characteristics of the cargo must also be considered. Many fresh fruits and foods can only be shipped by air for quality and freshness considerations. Some bulk products, such as certain minerals, can only be transported by bulk carriers.
Generally speaking, the above three factors must be comprehensively considered in order to choose the most suitable solution according to the actual situation.

2. Sea Ports, Airports and Railway stations in UK            

Sea ports            

In terms of shipping, there are 265 ports in UK, including 21 major ports, such as Felixstowe, Southampton, London, Manchester, Ipswich, Plymouth, Themesport, Belfast and Liverpool. The two most important ports are Felixstowe and Southampton.            

Felixstow is the largest port in UK and one of the largest in Europe. Many goods to other parts of the UK are transferred through Felixstow where there are developed rail and road connections connecting the port to distribution centers in Midlands and other parts of UK. Felixstow has played a key role in UK’s trade transformation, bringing tangible benefits to customers and the industry.            

Southampton port is a city and large seaport on the South Bank of England. The port is also large in Europe and serves as a hub for the transfer of goods to other parts of UK.

Air ports            

There are 37 international airports in the UK, of which the following 10 are the main international airports. That is to say, the air transport from China to UK is basically concentrated in the following 10 airports: Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Liz, Bermingham, Southampton, Bristol, London. We can see that Southampton is both a seaport and an airport. 

Railway stations          

To meet the requirements of the Belt and Road Initiative, railway transportation has also become a transportation choice for China to the United Kingdom, where the main railway station is London.

At present, there are railways to London from Hefei or Wuhan in China. The railway transportation mode makes the third option apart from air and sea freight.

3. Difference in time for different transportation modes            

Sea freight from China to UK

We will list the shipping companies and arrival time from several major Chinese ports to Felixstowe and Southampton.

TIANJIN(XINGANG) TO FELIXSTOWE
SCHEDULE: TUESDAY
SHIPPING LINE：HMM    TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT TPP 

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY
SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：48DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SHIPPING LINE：MSC             TIME：38DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD    TIME：45DAYS TRANSIT AT TPP

SHIPPING LINE：HMM                TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT TPP

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：CMA         TIME：40DAYS TRANSIT AT SHANGHAI

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO    TIME：38DAYS TRANSIT AT SOUTHAMPTON

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：40DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT QINGDAO

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL        TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT SINGAPORE

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO    TIME：38DAYS TRANSIT AT SHANGHAI

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：41days TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT QINGDAO

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL        TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

TIANJIN(XINGANG) TO SOUTHAMPTON

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT BUSAN

SHIPPING LINE：ONE       TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT BUSAN

SHIPPING LINE：Yangming  TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT BUSAN

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MSC           TIME：50DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SHIPPING LINE：HMM           TIME：47DAYS TRANSIT AT BUSAN

SHIPPING LINE：YANGMING       TIME：40DAYS TRANSIT AT BUSAN

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：CMA         TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO    TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：36DAYS DIRECT  

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL        TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT QINGDAO

QINGDAO TO FELIXSTOWE

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：48DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SHIPPING LINE：MSC         TIME：45DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：38DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MSC        TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM            TIME：36DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO           TIME：39DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：CMA         TIME：35DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO    TIME：35DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：35DAYS DIRECT  

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL        TIME：35DAYS DIRECT

QINGDAO TO SOUTHAMPTON

SCHEDULE: MONDAY

SHIPPING LINE：CMA         TIME：33DAYS TRANSIT AT SHENZHEN

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL        TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT SINGAPORE

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：43DAYS TRANSIT AT TPP

SHIPPING LINE：MSC         TIME：41DAYS TRANSIT AT SINGAPORE

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK         TIME：49DAYS TRANSIT AT BUSAN

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：39DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：40DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO           TIME：30DAYS TRANSIT AT SHANGHAI

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO           TIME：37DAYS TRANSIT AT NINGBO

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL            TIME：40DAYS TRANSIT AT SINGAPORE

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：ONE        TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM       TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：YANGMING TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO   TIME：37DAYS TRANSIT AT FELIXSTOWE

SHANGHAI TO FELIXSTOWE

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：32DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：32DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          IME：32DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL  TIME：32DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:45DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:31DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM        TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM         TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MSC        TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHANGHAI TO SOUTHAMPTON

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：ONE        TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：YANGMING TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：42DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SHIPPING LINE：MSC         TIME：49DAYS TRANSIT AT ABUDULA

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:37DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：ONE        TIME:37DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM       TIME:37DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：YANGMING TIME:37DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：32DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          IME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL  TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：45DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

NINGBO TO FELIXSTOWE

SCHEDULE: MONDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:31DAYS TRANSIT AT JEDDAH

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:43DAYS TRANSIT AT DAMIETTA

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL       TIME：28DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM         TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME:30DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL       TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM         TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:55DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:34DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM         TIME:34DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME:34DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MSC        TIME:34DAYS DIRECT

NINGBO TO SOUTHAMPTON

SCHEDULE: MONDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：44DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：44DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：44DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY

SHIPPING LINE：ONE         TIME:37DAYS TRANSIT AT SINGAPORE

SHIPPING LINE：YANGMING  TIME:30DAYS TRANSIT AT SINGAPORE

SCHEDULE: FRIDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL       TIME：30DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MSC         TIME：35DAYS TRANSIT AT ABUDULA

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：ONE        TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM       TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：YANGMING TIME:41DAYS DIRECT

SHENZHEN TO FELIXSTOWE

SCHEDULE: MONDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：26DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：26DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          TIME：26DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL       TIME：26DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:26DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM         TIME:26DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME:26DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：34DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：34DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          TIME：34DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL       TIME：34DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HMM         TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：HAMBURG-SUD  TIME:33DAYS DIRECT

SCHEDULE: SATURDAY

SHIPPING LINE：Hapag Lioyd  TIME:39DAYS TRANSIT AT LONDON

SHIPPING LINE：ONE        TIME:39DAYS TRANSIT AT LONDON

SCHEDULE: SUNDAY

SHIPPING LINE：ONE        TIME:39DAYS TRANSIT AT LONDON

SHENZHEN TO SOUTHAMPTON

SCHEDULE: MONDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：30DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: TUESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：MAERSK       TIME：36DAYS TRANSIT AT ROTTERDAM

SCHEDULE: WEDNESDAY

SHIPPING LINE：COSCO     TIME：25DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：EVERGREEN    TIME：25DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：CMA          TIME：25DAYS DIRECT

SHIPPING LINE：OOCL       TIME：25DAYS DIRECT

Air freight from China to UK

Generally speaking, air transportation takes 1 to 7 days. If you take a direct flight, it will take only one day. But the price will be more expensive. If the time requirement is not so strict, you can choose many transit flights, and the price will be slightly reduced. 

 Railway transportation from China to UK

Generally speaking, it takes about 20 days for railway transportation from Hefei or Wuhan to London. It’s about 10 days ahead of sea freight, and the freight won’t be very expensive. This provides more options of transportation. 

4. UK import customs clearance            

Issues about import duty and value-added tax.            

For ordinary goods imported into UK from China, there will be two taxes. 

One is value-added tax and the other is import duty.            

The standard rate of VAT increased to 20% on 4 January 2011 (from 17.5%).            The import duty is levied according to HS code which is classified according to the product category. You can consult us for detail. 

Example of tax calculation            

Terms of trade: FOB            

UK tax = import duty + import VAT            

Import duty = (declared cargo value + freight) * tax rate            

Import VAT = (declared cargo value + freight + duty + VAT value adjust) * 20%            

VAT value adjust is the regulation standard of the UK Customs General Administration on the declared price. Different customs and the amount of goods will affect their amount. This fee is not necessarily there, but the declared value will be generated if it is too low.

Customs clearance by air            

1) Airport Cargo Station clearance, free time is 24 hours, warehouse rent is about 20gbp / 100kg / day. So if a customs check is required, the warehouse rent will be very high.            2) Customs clearance of airport bonded warehouse will generate a transfer fee, but the warehouse rent is very small, which is a common situation of air shipping. 

Customs clearance by sea            

1) For port customs clearance, the stacking free time is 5 days, and the whole container can also be cleared by several EORI tax numbers. However, if the goods with one tax number are inspected, the whole container cannot be released before inspection. 

2) For customs clearance in the bonded warehouse near the wharf, you can first sort the goods according to the EORI tax number, and then clear the goods by separate single bills, so that even if any goods are inspected by the customs, the goods of other tax numbers will not be affected. Generally, the free stacking time of bonded warehouses of some LCL companies is 5-7 days, and the warehouse rent may vary from GBP40 / CBM / day. 

Other notes:            

Some friends have a misconception that in the UK customs clearance is to use VAT number, but in fact, it is not. Customs clearance is to use EORI number. EORI is the abbreviation of economic operators Registration and identification. It is the identification number for enterprises or individuals imported to UK to communicate with the customs. It is common across the EU. When applying for VAT, EORI can be activated at the same time. EORI number in UK= GB + VAT number + 000.

5. Summary of cargo transportation and customs clearance cases from China to UK

 We have described in detail the trade between China and the United Kingdom, and how to choose among different modes of transportation, the detailed time spent, and the ports or stations that can be reached. Some points that need to be paid attention to in UK import customs clearance are also mentioned. We hope this article can provide some helpful suggestions for your shipment from China to the UK. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us, and we will answer your questions at the first time