China has overtaken Germany to become the UK’s biggest source of goods and supplies, new data for the first quarter of 2021 has shown.
Imports from China to the UK have increased by two thirds (66%) since the start of 2018, totalling £16.9bn in the first three months of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Supplies of textiles for PPE and face masks are among the products that have propelled China ahead of Germany.
Germany toppled
Germany had been the UK’s largest source of imports almost continually since 1997 when modern records began, according to the Guardian.
However, since the start of 2018, imports from Germany have fallen by more than a quarter to £12.5bn. Declining sales in cars during the pandemic is among the contributing factors.
EU the main partner
Although the EU remains the UK’s main trading partner when treated as a bloc, UK trade with member states is down a quarter (23.1%) compared with three years 2018.
By comparison, trade with non-EU countries has decreased by only 0.8%.
According to the Times, the ONS said that disruption from the Covid-19 crisis and a slowdown in the global economy meant it was “too early to assess the extent to which the transition period reflects short-term trade disruption or longer-term supply chain adjustments”.
Top import partners
Total goods imports by top five import partners, Q1 2018 and Q1 2021 (£bn)
| Country | Q1 2018 | Q1 2021 | Percentage change |
| China | 10.2 | 16.9 | 65.6% |
| Germany | 17.0 | 12.5 | -26.8% |
| United States | 9.1 | 7.6 | -16.7% |
| Netherlands | 10.3 | 7.1 | -31.0% |
| France | 7.1 | 5.2 | -27.2% |
| Total whole world imports | 118.3 | 105.4 | -10.9% |
Source: Office for National Statistics