British analysts expect scale-up of China-Britain services trade, investment

LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Speaking highly of the rapid growth of China's services trade, British analysts are eyeing huge opportunities to expand services trade and investment between China and Britain.

A view of the financial district skyline in London. Analysts expect a scale-up in China-Britain services trade and bilateral investment. (File photo: VCG)

The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), which concluded on Sunday, attracted a heavier presence of multinational companies compared to last year, with 473 of them being either Fortune Global 500 firms or industry leaders.

High-profile events like the CIFTIS play a key role in promoting key services export opportunities for Britain-based services firms, the City of London Corporation (CLC) told Xinhua.

The fair clearly reinforces China's continued commitment to a consumption- and services-driven growth model, openness to international investment, and further reform and opening of its services sector, according to the CLC.

The country's trade in services maintained steady growth in the first seven months of 2026. It totalled nearly 4.45 trillion yuan (about 663.3 billion U.S. dollars) during the period, up 8.3 percent year on year, China's official data showed.

"China's services trade expansion creates a new engine for growth and represents its next stage of internationalization," said John McLean, chairman of the China UK Business Development Centre.

A recent report from British consultancy Brand Finance showed China ranks second globally with 21 brands in the world's 100 most valuable trade in services brands, with a combined worth of 876.8 billion dollars.

Alex Haigh, managing director of Brand Finance Asia Pacific, said that by leveraging the synergies of digital platforms, communications networks and large financial institutions, Chinese trade in services brands are rising rapidly, reflecting a new trend of extending "Made in China" to "China services" and "China brands."

The growth of China's trade in services "offers fresh trade opportunities," McLean said. "I believe trade in services represents one of the strongest opportunities for the next phase of the China-UK economic relationship."

Britain has advantages in fields like financial and professional services, life sciences and creative industries, while China leads in fields such as digitization, advanced manufacturing and rapid commercialization of technology, he noted.

The two sides could create the greatest opportunity by combining their complementary strengths, he added.

Britain's financial expertise and China's large, expanding capital market offer huge complementarity, which will create significant scope to expand cross-border investments in areas including legal and accounting services, asset management and insurance, according to the CLC.

Hailing China's capabilities in technological innovation, including electric vehicles and green technology, the CLC noted that the ability to develop and implement green solutions at scale brings further opportunities to finance their global deployment to address the climate challenge.

China offers scale, a strong business ecosystem -- including supply chains, innovative companies, advanced technology and research -- and most importantly, the ability to drive change, or in other words, China speed, McLean said, noting these represent a strong platform for significant growth.