Manufacturing

Foreign‑invested firms in China are increasingly turning to cross‑border restructuring to reduce risk while keeping a foothold in the Chinese market Cross‑border restructuring offers a way to de‑risk supply chains, sidestep punitive tariffs, and build operational resilience without abandoning China entirely. It is not just moving factories from China to Vietnam or Indonesia. It requires a strategic overhaul of tax structures, legal entities, workforce plans, intellectual property arrangements, supplier networks, …

The China-Britain Business Council’s latest Trade Tracker reveals steady growth in UK-China trade, with goods exports rising to £21.1 billion in 2024, showcasing the enduring strength of British businesses across regions In its eleventh edition, the CBBC Trade Tracker, released in June 2025, paints an optimistic picture of UK-China trade relations, underscoring the resilience and dynamic nature of this vital economic partnership. In 2024, a year marked by global economic …

China’s manufacturing industry powers much of the global economy, producing everything from smartphones to industrial machinery at a scale, quality and cost that few other nations can rival. For British businesses, tapping into this vast production hub offers undeniable advantages, including lower costs, rapid scalability, and access to a sprawling network of suppliers. However, ensuring consistent quality control when manufacturing in China remains a formidable challenge, particularly for British firms …

In the first of a series on importing from China, transportation and logistics specialist Heighten offers advice on what to consider when sourcing a manufacturer in China China is still the first port of call for many companies looking to source products to import to the UK, but before you start sourcing, it is important to define what you (think) are looking for. What is important to your organisation? What …

A newly-published report by Santander and CBBC details the landscape of China’s automotive industry, as well as key opportunities for British brands such as the already successful Jaguar Land Rover and others looking to enter the market China is the world’s top automotive market, with 25.8 million new vehicles sold in 2019 versus 17 million in the United States. Private car ownership in China stood at 207 million in 2019 …

The Biden administration wants to revitalise the US manufacturing sector to compete with China. However, facing stiff competition from Europe and East Asia, is likely to face the same problems China has if it wants to establish a self-sufficient domestic manufacturing industry. Read the full analysis below. Since former US President Donald Trump launched his trade war with China, competition with Beijing has become an obsession in US politics. His …

Using case studies including Apple, Uniqlo and Dyson, among others, Yuqing Xing’s new book explores how global value chains have offered an alternative path for China to achieve industrialisation, turbocharging the economic learning curve. Paul French finds out more. On a surface level, it’s a well-known story: over the last quarter century, China has emerged as the world’s largest exporting nation with more than £1.4 trillion GBP of exports annually. …

ENTRIES TO THE 2021 CHINA-SCOTLAND BUSINESS AWARDS ARE NOW OPEN. AS PART OF OUR COUNTDOWN TO THE NEXT EVENT, WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE COMPANIES THAT CAME OUT ON TOP THIS YEAR. RACHEL JONES OF SNAPDRAGON WAS WINNER OF THE 2O2O ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD Rachel Jones launched her online product monitoring company SnapDragon after discovering that products she was making with another company in China were being …

Entries to the 2021 China-Scotland Business Awards are now open. As part of our countdown to the next event, we take a look at the companies that came out on top this year. First up, winners of the 2o2o Exporter of the Year Award, Calnex Tommy Cook is CEO of Scottish technology company Calnex, which won the 2020 Exporter of the Year Award. Calnex is a specialist technology manufacturer that …

Dexter Roberts lived in Beijing for more than two decades reporting on economics, business and politics for Bloomberg Businessweek. In his new book, The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: The Worker, the Factory, and the Future of the World, Roberts looks at what actually powers the Chinese economic machine. From the rural villages that supply the vast numbers of migrant workers to what this massive internal migration has meant for China’s …