UK services sector seeks slice of China's overseas investment boom

U.K. firms are moving to capture a share of surging Chinese outbound investment, with business leaders gathering in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, last week to pitch British professional services to Chinese companies expanding abroad.

Speakers and organizers pose at the British Chamber of Commerce South China's "Go Global" forum in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, May 15, 2026. [Photo courtesy of the British Chamber of Commerce South China]

The event was the third in the "Go Global" forum series, organized by the British Chamber of Commerce South China to connect U.K. professional services firms with Chinese enterprises expanding overseas. Attendees in Zhuhai included Chinese consumer electronics group Honor and U.K. firms Clyde & Co, Deloitte and KPMG.

"Britain has the strongest professional, financial and business services in the world," said Mark Clayton, chair of the British Chamber of Commerce South China. "Whether the destination is the U.K. itself, the Middle East, Southeast Asia or Africa, U.K. firms are best placed to help."

According to official data from China's Ministry of Commerce, Chinese outbound direct investment rose 7.1% to $174.4 billion in 2025. Complementing this, analysis from the Rhodium Group indicates that overseas mergers and acquisitions reached a five-year high of nearly $10 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the fifth straight quarter of growth.

"The opportunity right now is extraordinary," Clayton said. "The runway ahead is huge, especially given how strongly the Chinese government is now backing the Go Global agenda."

In January, the chamber became the first foreign business group to sign a cooperation agreement with the "Go Global" Comprehensive Service Centre for Chinese Enterprises (GGCC), a national-level platform that connects Chinese companies with vetted service providers in overseas markets, giving U.K. firms a formal referral route into its national network.

"No other foreign chamber currently has this arrangement," Clayton said. "We are now working closely with our GGCC partners on how to turn that framework into practical, on-the-ground value for Chinese companies looking outbound."

Mark Clayton, chair of the British Chamber of Commerce South China, speaks at the chamber's "Go Global" forum in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, May 15, 2026. [Photo courtesy of the British Chamber of Commerce South China]

British service exports to China are running at an all-time high amid improving ties and China's push to expand market access in its services sector, a priority outlined in the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

The U.K. ran a 9.5-billion-pound ($12 billion) services trade surplus with China in the four quarters to the end of 2025, as services exports rose 4.8% to 13.2 billion pounds, according to the U.K. Department for Business and Trade.

"It [Go Global] comes at a very good time in our bilateral relationship following the prime minister's visit to China in January, the first by a British premier in eight years, which has energized our business relationship," said Trevor Lewis, head of trade and investment at the British Consulate General in Guangzhou.

Despite the record surplus, Lewis said British services firms, which account for about 80% of the U.K. economy, had barely scratched the surface of what China had to offer.

"The U.K.'s share of China's services market is only 8%, compared to a global average of 22%," he said. "Just a small uptick would be big business for the U.K."

Zheng Zeguang, China's ambassador to the U.K., said in April that both sides were working toward faster progress in establishing a bilateral services partnership and a services trade agreement.

One-third of British companies operating in China say helping Chinese companies expand abroad is their biggest opportunity, rising to 85% among law firms and 68% among financial services firms, according to a sentiment survey by the British Chamber of Commerce in China.

Alex Jupp, client partnerships director at Oxfordshire- and London-based creative agency Juice, offered a case study in what that looks like in practice. When Chinese automaker Chery sought to break into the U.K. market with its Jaecoo sub-brand, it turned to Juice, which repositioned the marque from an unknown import into a brand that resonated with British consumers.

"Less than two years ago, nobody had ever heard of them, and last month their J7 model was the No. 1 selling car in the U.K.," Jupp said.

Jaecoo was named Brand of the Year at the Carwow Car of the Year Awards 2026, capping a breakthrough that Juice helped make possible.

Jupp said British consumers were increasingly receptive to new entrants from China, so long as companies knew how to connect with them. "The U.K. is open for business, it's open for new brands, it's open for new ideas and it's open for new challengers," he said.

Alex Jupp, client partnerships director at U.K. creative agency Juice, discusses the agency's work with Chinese automaker Chery at the British Chamber of Commerce South China's "Go Global" forum in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, May 15, 2026. [Photo courtesy of the British Chamber of Commerce South China]

Lewis was keen to stress that the opportunities for China-U.K. services cooperation stretched far beyond Britain's own shores.

"There's considerable value for us in helping British service companies connect with Chinese partners and provide advice and expertise across a very broad range of markets, such as Africa and the Middle East, where U.K. businesses have been established for decades and know how to get things done," Lewis said.

Friday's Zhuhai session was the third Go Global event in seven months, following Guangzhou in November and Shenzhen in January, all three held in Guangdong province, home to many of China's most globally active companies. Each session drew around 200 participants from Chinese enterprises, British businesses and government representatives, including major U.K. firms such as HSBC and PwC alongside Chinese companies including Huawei and Tencent.

"We're now building Go Global into a permanent U.K. platform connecting British services expertise with Chinese companies expanding overseas," Clayton said. "The job from here is to make sure Chinese companies are going global with the right partners, British partners."