British businesses see expanding opportunities in China's consumer market

BEIJING, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's Daily:

When British engineer Andrew Ritchie developed the first Brompton folding bicycle in 1975, he probably never imagined that China would one day become the brand's largest market worldwide, accounting for around 30 percent of its global sales in fiscal year 2025–2026.

"China's steadily upgrading consumer demand and increasingly mature market have created broader opportunities for British businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to export distinctive products at scale," said Sebastian Wood, chair of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

By 2026, Brompton had established 23 directly operated stores and more than 60 authorized dealers in 37 Chinese cities, building a comprehensive offline retail network covering major first- and second-tier cities.

According to Wood, the growth of the bicycle brand is a vivid example of the complementary and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship between China and the UK, while also illustrating the enormous potential of China's vast consumer market.

In 2025, bilateral trade in goods between China and the UK reached $103.7 billion. As China upgrades consumption and accelerates industrial transformation, new demand is emerging that aligns well with the UK's strengths in areas such as original design, health technology and professional services.

"What sets the Chinese market apart is not simply its scale, but also its unified market environment, strong domestic demand and rapid innovation capabilities," Wood said.

For SMEs with limited resources, expanding into many overseas markets often requires adapting to different standards and establishing separate distribution channels, significantly increasing market entry costs. In China, however, once companies tailor their products to the market and establish sales channels, they can quickly reach consumers across diverse regions and market segments while continuously improving their offerings through feedback from a wide range of real-world applications.

"This is exactly why, in recent years, an increasing number of British SMEs and technology companies have focused on the Chinese market and sought to expand their exports to China," he said.

Against a backdrop of sluggish global demand and rising trade protectionism, China's Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan calls for accelerating the country's development into a strong trading nation, improving the quality and efficiency of foreign trade, and promoting more balanced growth in imports and exports.

"This not only is an essential requirement for China's high-quality development, but also creates stable, long-term market opportunities for British companies," Wood said.

In his view, China's proactive efforts to expand imports have strengthened British businesses' confidence in trading with China and promoted more balanced bilateral trade. At the same time, the UK's strengths in green finance, international legal services, professional consulting, international health care and high-end education align closely with China's needs as the world's second-largest economy modernizes its services sector and advances high-standard opening up.

Turning market potential into tangible business opportunities also requires efficient platforms that connect companies with buyers.

According to statistics from the CBBC, over the eight editions of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), more than 480 British company have participated, including nearly 80 technology startups exhibiting in the innovation incubation section. The range of participating industries has expanded from consumer goods to high-end manufacturing, biomedicine, green and low-carbon technologies, and professional services.

"For British SMEs that lack overseas business networks, open platforms such as the CIIE have significantly lowered the barriers to entering the Chinese market," Wood said. "British SMEs will continue to explore new opportunities for cooperation and write more success stories of mutually beneficial partnership with China."

SOURCE People's Daily