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CONTENTSTHIS IS GREAT BRITAIN IN CHINA

An INTERVIEW with the BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO CHINA BARBARA WOODWARD

P10 THE FOOD CRITIC Tom Parker bowles

making Britainsound better

P21 towards a china-brit flick

P24 shanghai mathematics

P25 EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY AND CHINA

P28 cultural exchange - the academic opinion

P18 china-Britain relationship grows ever stronger

P23 training the next generation

icon: SHERLOCK HOLMES, A BRITISH CHINESE OBSESSION

P31 interview: director-general UKti in China - dr. catherine raines business through culture and culture through business

THIS IS MY STORY

p9 BRITAIN SPEAKS CREATIViTY UNTO CHINA

Creating culture through cinema

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GREAT BRITISH CULTURE

p12 THE DESIGNER Neville Brody

A BRITISH FAMILY’S HISTORY IN CHINA

THE CHINESE NAMING CAMPAIGN

As the first half of the UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange comes to a close, MESSENGER takes a look at the impact that the event has had so far by assessing the British activities in China as well as the efforts of both sides to improve cultural understanding. We speak to the UK’s Ambassador to China, Barbara Woodward, as well as creative and business professionals, in-cluding food critic Tom Parker Bowles, graphic designer Neville Brody and UKTI Director-General Dr. Catherine Raines to assess British culture and its footprint in China.

As Britain seeks to improve its re-lations with one of the world’s most important rising powers, this issue of MESSENGER seeks to discover the importance of culture in the ever growing relationship. In the spheres of popular culture, education and cinema, it is clear to see that both British and Chinese culture can complement one another. We also look ahead to the second half of the year, which will see China export its vibrant culture to the United Kingdom.

Editor’s Message

Editor-in-chiefStuart Wiggin

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For Chinese people who are fascinated with British culture and vice versa, 2015 has so far been a year designed to satisfy their cravings. Under-

pinned by both governments, the first ever UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange has showcased some of the finest and brightest cultural gems in each country.

From the art exhibition of Michael Craig-Martin, the godfather of British conceptual art; to the stage plays performed by London’s Royal Court Theatre, Chinese art lovers have had the chance to greet an all-star lineup of British artists, de-signers and leading entrepreneurs.

The 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange is essentially an artistic extravaganza to strengthen bilateral ties in the fields of arts and the cre-ative industries. The program is made up of two seasons: a UK season of culture in China, from March until July; and a Chinese season in Britain held in the second half of the year.

According to Andrew Key, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Beijing, the project goes much further than deep-ening the relationship between the two gov-ernments; it also encourages individuals to network with their peers .

“It’s about us and our respect for our admiration and enjoyment of each other’s cultures. It’s also about ideas. It’s about being open, being inspired by each other’s cultures and about stretching the boundaries of creativity by working together, creating new partnerships between creative people and creative organizations.”

Led by the British Council in China, the UK season aimed to encapsulate the essence of British culture through a series of contemporary installments in music, film, architecture, theatre and literature. Chinese audiences have so far been able to immerse themselves with some of the most adventur-ous ideas in Britain, such as the exhibition of Heatherwick Studio, the design practice that once adorned the UK pavil-ion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

However, the event has not only been confined to artistic expressions. According to Nick Marchant, art director at the British Council, the GREAT Festival of Creativity was no doubt the highlight of the year. Unveiled by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, at the launch of the Year of Cultural Exchange, the event allowed Chinese enterprises to engage with leading figures in British creative industry and provid-ed a platform to explore the role of creativity in commercial success over three days.

Marchant stresses that the components of the creative in-dustry are vitally important to Britain’s economy, pointing out that, “The British creative industry includes advertising, architecture, craft, design, film, television, publishing, mu-seums and galleries, technology and music industries. They now wield five percent of UK income. About 2016, China cultural industry will account for a very similar figure, as one of the five pillars of growth.”

Instead of simply introducing British talents, collabora-tive programs also occupy a significant proportion during the UK season. For example, musicians from Wuhan and Manchester joined forces to celebrate the two cities’ indus-trial heritage; while the Royal Shakespeare Company began translating Chinese plays into English.

Carma Elliot, director at the British Council, spoke of the lasting effect an event such as the UK-China Year of Cul-tural Exchange has on the national psyche, stating, “I think what we want to capture is that it’s not just about us thinking how wonderful our culture is. It is about where our cultures connect and what we can do together. Because ultimately, we are very complementary in that regard and we both have such rich culture as well.”

And as Elliot states, 2015 is simply the start of deeper cul-tural exchanges, adding that “this year is very significant for us and for the next few years as well. We don’t just want to do a big festival and then nothing next year.”

It is about where our cultures connect and

what we can do together.

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INTERVIEW INTERVIEW

CRIENGLISH.com’s Liu Xiangwei speaks to UK Ambassador to China, Barbara Jan-et Woodward about the UK China Year of Cultural Exchange, educational exchanges between the two countries, football devel-opment and the broader UK-China rela-tionship in general.

You actually worked in China as a teacher back in the 1980s, so what brought you here at that time?

So I first came to China in 1986 and I came after I graduated from university. I’d studied a bit of Chinese and I wanted to come and learn

more about China and take the opportunity to improve my Chinese. And I also had the opportunity to teach English at the time.

What was your first impression of the country?

My first impression of China was that it was very busy, I think. I remember that time I flew in to Hong Kong and I took the train to Guangzhou. My colleague from Hubei University was due to meet me at Guangzhou Railway Station and there was no particular meeting point. There were lots of people every-where, lots of luggage everywhere. So I just sat on my suitcase and waited for my colleague to come. And he eventually found me. And I thought so much activity and business because, of course, China had just started reform and opening up at that time. So that was very exciting. And I think still the impor-tance of education. All of my students were very diligent, very hard-working even though they had suffered a lot of hardship to get to university. They were very committed to studying hard and making progress and using their studies to get a good job. So those were my two big impressions then.

Last year when Premier Li Keqiang visited the UK he signed a joint state-ment with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, marking 2015 as the year of cultural exchange between our two countries. How do you think the year-long program has benefitted our two countries and what will be the highlight of the program?

We were delighted, of course, that Premier Li Keqiang visited Lon-don last year. And we had a very wide-ranging discussion between him and Prime Minister David Cameron. And the signing of the agreement on having a year of cultural exchange was a really important part of that. So broadly we’ve agreed that in the first half of the year we will have a series of UK activities here in China; and in the second half of the year we’ll have some Chinese-led activities in the UK. We, in the UK, have been focusing very much on innovation and creativity in our culture.

I think many Chinese people are already very well aware of some of the historical aspects of our culture. So they know about Shakespeare, they know about Dickens, and so on. But we wanted to take the opportunity to introduce some of our cutting-edge, creative and innovative culture. For

example, we have a music program called Music on the Go. And if people download the app, they can get access to some of our top music and even win a free trip to a UK music festival in the UK during the summer; and that’s available throughout China.

I’m very excited that Thomas Heatherwick, who is quite famous in China because in 2009 he designed the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo the following year, and then went on to design the centrepiece of our Olympic opening ceremony; he’s going to be opening a design studio and an exhi-bition here in China as part of our year of culture. And then, of course, we are showing some modern British films. So we have the film of Shaun the Sheep, which will be launching late this summer, and the new James Bond film Spectre, which will launch later this summer. And we’ve just launched a film called Kingsmen, staring Collin Firth here in China. So we are doing some modern films, some modern music, and some modern design, all as part of our year of culture.

Britain has become the most popular European destination for Chinese students of higher edu-cation. What would you do to encourage educa-tional exchanges between our two countries?

Well, you’re right. I’m very passionate about the educational exchanges because that was the orig-inal reason that brought me to China. And we are delighted that we have over 130,000 Chinese students studying in the UK at the moment. We want to encourage students to study more in the UK, and I’ve spoken to several British universi-ties about how we can approach that, including how we can streamline the process for getting a student visa, which I think is an important part of the process.

We’ve also got a number of universities here in China which have educational exchanges with British universities, and even some which have their own campuses here so that Chinese students can study physically here in China but then they end up with a degree from a British university. And I think that’s a very important development because fundamental-ly the most important thing about our educa-tion is that we equip young people for life, and careers and service in the twenty-first century. And I don’t think any one country yet has a monopoly on that, but when we bring our two systems together, the very best of those two systems allow us to support young people as they train for the future. So I think this is all developing very positively.

China is trying hard to give opportunities to children to help them grow as football players and to cultivate football culture. How do you think our two countries can cooperate in this field and do you think your country can offer techni-cal assistance?

Well, we are delighted to see this because China obviously has great potential in football, and I know that the Chinese team did very well recently in the AFC Asian Cup. And I know the ambition is to get to the World Cup at some point. So we’re very pleased to be involved in this process with China, and we’ve got a program which we call “Premier Skills” where we are training football coaches in order for them to go on and train some of the young, aspiring Chinese footballers. And I think it is very important for education that young people learn not just academic skills but also skills that allow them to operate in teams, to show leader-ship, to learn how to live with challenges and defeat. And it allows them, I think, different children, to flourish and show their talents when they are asked to do something on the football pitch than when they are in their classrooms. So I think it’s a very important way of rounding out and making much deeper the roots of a young person’s development.

During his meeting with Prince William, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he will visit the UK by the end of the year. Can you tell us what we can expect from this visit?

We’re delighted that President Xi Jinping has accepted the invitation from her majesty the Queen, Queen Elizabeth, to pay a state visit to the United Kingdom. It’s something that happens maybe once every ten years for the UK-China rela-tionship. So we want to make this a really very successful visit by President Xi Jinping. We want to use it to showcase the strength and depth of the cooperation between our two coun-tries. And we want to use it to show, too, a new level of ambi-tion, as we approach together the challenges of the twen-ty-first century, both of our partnership on the UN Security Council, our partnership in trade, the challenges we face around climate change, around wider global development, as well as the commitment we are making to the next generation of young people. So I think it will be a very exciting and a very memorable state visit. And we are very much looking forward to welcoming President Xi Jinping to the UK.

An Interview with the Ambassador

When we bring ourtwo systems together, the very best of those systems allow us to support young

people as they train for the future.


As a part of the GREAT Britain Cam-paign, a GREAT Festival of Creativity was held over three days in Shanghai earlier in the year in March, 2015.

Showcasing a wide range of sectors, including education, urban development and entertain-ment, the three-day-event, seen as one of the de-fining moments of the UK-China Year of Cultur-al Exchange, not only promised to support UK companies looking for growth in China, but also provided a platform for Chinese entrepreneurs to exchange ideas with their British counterparts.

SHOWCASING TALENTFrom Jack Ma, the founder of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, to Sir John Sorrell, the chairman of the UK’s Creative Industries Federation, the event attracted a high-level business audience from Brit-ain, China and beyond. By showcasing some of the brightest British talent and expertise in commercial creativity, the GREAT Festival of Creativity tried to secure opportunity for UK businesses to tap into one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, deliv-ered a speech at the opening ceremony, pointing out, “This is my first visit in China. We’re less than 24 hours into my first visit and a strong sense of opportunity exists for collaboration and partnership between our two countries. This GREAT festival is a statement from the Unit-ed Kingdom. We are excited about partnering with China on creativity and innovation. It is a message of partnership from the best of British business, that we know the future successes of our economies will be shared successes. “

SOARING TRADEFrom fashion to healthcare, British delegates from various sectors displayed some of the most innovative ideas and cutting-edge tech-nologies. But the festival was not just about showcasing. According to official figures, the bilateral trade of the two countries hit a record high last year totalling more than 80 billion US dollars, particularly in terms of transporta-tion, energy and infrastructure.

By the end of 2014, Britain had already become the top European nation for Chinese outbound investment. But how to go about strengthening the relationship and tackling the challenges that exist still remain big concerns. In order to answer those questions, panel discussions and forums were held during the Creativity Festival.

Britain Speaks Creativity unto China

Industry insiders and business leaders from both nations exchanged ideas and contributed their opinions in global strategies and the creative process.

DESIGN DIFFERENCESLin Yucheng, a Chinese representative of Prosen, an interna-tional education group based in London explained that, “Like the other Chinese panelists who have expanded their business in the UK, I have encountered similar problems, such as cul-tural and management differences. So I was curious about their solutions and they gave me answers from a broad picture.”

According to Peng Chuyao, the manager of a local supercon-ductor company, the festival shed light on a rather soft side of the industry, since many Chinese creative enterprises have already caught up with their foreign counterparts technolo-gy-wise but have been less savvy in terms of marketing and design. Peng explained that he attended the festival back in March “to find future partners, customers and more updated information. Since my company is research-based, I thought the platform could provide some fresh ideas in digital market-ing, design and cultural creativity. By combing the artistic and scientific aspects of the business, I believe we could go further.”

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AS ANECONOMIC PILLARThere is also the belief that events like this, and those that have been taking place over the past six months in China and for the remainder of the year on British soil, will have a long-lasting effect. Conrad Bird, director of the GREAT Britain Campaign from the UK’s Prime Minister’s Office said of the GREAT Festival of Creativity event that, as the highlight of the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, it could engage and impact people from both countries for many years.

As Bird further elaborated, “Five percent of British GDP is creative industries, 3.5 percent of Chinese GDP is creative industries. There’s a huge amount of importance placed on creative industries in the UK and China. Of course one of the objectives is business. But I think it’s more about partnership and it’s actually about two minds, two people coming together and creating something new in whatever business or whatever environment they are.”

...a strong sense of opportunity exists

for collaboration and partnership...

CULTURE CULTURE


GREAT BR IT ISH CULTURE

TH E F O O D

The legendary writer J.R.R Tolkien once said, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” His philosophy is

shared by many, including Tom Parker Bowles, the award-winning British food writer and critic. Bowles, a culinary superstar paid a visit to China recently, a nation world-renowned for its food cul-ture, in order to raise the profile of British cuisine and highlight the fact that food is essentially a uni-versal language and that Britain is keen on correct-ing its food image problem within China.

IMAGE PROBLEMWhen you talk about British food, people laugh and say British food is the worst in the world; it’s disgusting, it’s boring. In China, I’ve seen websites devoted to the worst British food. Britain lost its culinary identity a long time ago. We moved from an agrarian, rural society to an industrial society very quickly.

Then technology came along and we had two World Wars, during which we had rationing. So, we lost our passion for food and for the British, it wasn’t right to talk about food and enjoy food. It was “eat to live” not “live to eat”.

THE REALITYFor me, when you come to Britain, and you come to London, you find not just some of the best ingredients in the world; we’re a very small island and we have a lot of rain. That means we have lots of grass which makes for very good cattle, which means we have butter, cheese and milk. So we have fantastic raw produce. British food is about simplicity. It’s a bit like Cantonese (food) in that way; get the very, very best ingre-dients and do very little to them.

IS BRITISH FOOD A JOKE?

When I speak to friends in China, you have Mr. Bean and you have British food. British food is like a comedy show isn’t it, because the Chinese food culture is so strong, and because you’re lucky enough to have grown up with this wonderful food and this wonderful tradition that has been going for hundreds and hundreds of years; again (British food) is not a highly spiced food.

We don’t use a lot of seasonings perhaps like in any region of China. It’s very difficult to sell it perhaps to the Chinese. So, why aren’t there British restau-

rants in China? Number one, the perception of British food is so poor. Number two, it’s about ingredients; the freshest ingre-dients. We need to be able to start getting our best ingredients into China. If you don’t have the best produce in China, we can’t do British food.

We get the very, very best ingredients and do very little

to them.

OVERCOMING THE STEREOTYPES & OBSTACLESThis is the thing we’ve got to get through. There are issues with imports at the moment. We have to work together with government; the British government, the Chinese govern-ment, and start trying to get it. It will start at the top, as it always does, at the expensive stores. I think it would be a brave person who opens a British restaurant in China. But, you know, who knows?

The first thing to do is with (Chinese) tourists, they have to taste good British food and come back saying “it’s not a joke, sometimes it’s ok,” to change that perception. Unless that perception is changed, we won’t be able to get anything. Slowly, slowly, start with tourists coming back over and also speaking to the governments and beginning to get good produce in. It’s going to be difficult, I’ll tell you that much. It’s just a question of education, but I just wish that I could get to all those tourists and get them to the right places; but I will in the end.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD CULTURE EXCHANGE

You’ve got to try. Food is a universal experience. You don’t have to speak Mandarin or you don’t have to speak English to be able to enjoy food. The universal symbols of smiling or rubbing your stomach, I don’t speak Mandarin or Cantonese, yet I can go to the street food (sellers) and say that’s good and smile. That is the most fundamental thing.

The communication which is fundamental between human beings of smiling, joy and enjoyment; that’s how we start. We sit down and we break bread together, we eat rice together. We talk, we smile - that’s where it starts; at the table. All communi-cation starts at the table; family, happiness, friends, everything. So if we can sit down together and share our food the best, that’s a start. Photo: Tom Eversley

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FOOD FOOD


You may not know who Neville Brody is, but you might recognise the typefaces he designs that appear on numerous adverts, magazines, and even the shirts

worn by the England national football team. Cre-ating some of the world’s most popular fonts, this British designer has set the typographic principle that is followed by many magazines around the world today. He recently journeyed to China to offer his take on innovative ideas.

CULTURAL DNATypeface design is a really interesting area that has changed so much. When I started studying, it was not so easy to access the ability to design a typeface. Typefaces were designed in metal; it would take many, many years of practice; kind of almost like being a monk. You had to go through a long process to get things printed. But then with a computer, for a period of time, it was a bit like designers making typefaces like musicians making pop music.

A society’s culture is embedded in their language. Language is a contract where two parties or more have agreed that certain ele-ments, when they put them in a certain order, mean certain things. But actually, they could be any elements at all that you could combine to make stuff. So, we treat typography as a type of music. For me, it’s always been a way of bringing in a cultural DNA.

THE CREATIVE PROCESSThis (type of ) design is quite strategic. It has to work for somebody, or work for a project, or work for a problem, or work for an envi-ronment. So, you have to do a lot of research to begin with. And then there’s a creative part, where maybe you’re doing some experiment-ing, a bit like jazz music. So, you have a system and you can improvise within that. That part, the creative improvisation; that’s most im-portant. And then of course, because graphic design has a client usually, if the client likes it that’s even better.

For the Times Newspaper we did all of their headline typefaces under new masthead. And that was much more about making something work properly, because they went from a big size to a small size, so the character needed to be narrower so they could fit more words on a page.

And because the paper was bad quality, it had to be very high contrast type, so it would look sharp. And then it had to be somehow traditional, because the Times is the world’s oldest newspaper, and somehow also modern and then it would work on their website. So, it had to do a lot of things.

DEMAND FOR TYPEFACE DESIGNThese days, brands work less about what the logo looks like. Brands are much more about storytelling; it’s actual-ly much more about how that brand communicates now. The images are just a transient part of that, but what is consistent always is the typeface that they use.

As a designer, that typeface says a lot; it communicates a lot. It could be very formal, or it could be very friend-ly and warm or childish, or it could be professional. So these typefaces give a voice to the words before you’ve even read the words.

ADVICE FOR CHINA’S YOUNG DESIGNERS

I think (young designers) should trust themselves and they should trust their own creative intuition. And they need to make sure that they do a lot of research as well, but always take risks, I think. There’s no point in just being professional.

(Young designers) should trust themselves

and they should trust their own creative

intuition... Always take risks.

There’s no point in just being professional.

DESIGN DESIGN


At the tail end of last year, as part of the GREAT China Welcome project launched by VisitBritain, the “GREAT Chinese Names for GREAT Britain”

campaign was launched in Beijing. This marked the beginning of Britain’s largest ever tourism campaign in China.

The goal was to let Chinese people come up with names for 101 specific British places, events, food and literature, in an effort not only to promote Britain’s image but also to produce a series of Chinese names that would resonate among Chinese speakers and tourists interested in the country.

With the aims of attracting more Chinese tourists to Britain and making Britain the most welcoming destination in Europe for Chinese visitors, it is clear that the chase for Chinese tourists and the cash that they bring with them is an important contest, with VisitBritain announc-ing in February that 2014 was a record year for both inbound visits and spend.

Patricia Yates, the Director of Strategy and Communications for VistiBritain pointed out that this year’s naming campaign “(took) its inspiration from the Chinese love of giving Chinese names to places.” But the organisers of the campaign were keen not to limit the activity to those cities that many Chinese people are already familiar with. The naming campaign chose a host of locations spanning the entire United Kingdom, including many beautiful small towns and villages.

Patricia Yates pointed out, “I think what we’re seeing from the Chinese market is that maturing of the market very quickly. So for the first visit to come and see London, what a great global city that is; but now Chinese visitors spend much longer (in Britain) than some of the visitors from other markets. So this is an opportunity to show all the experiences there are around the rest of the country and show them the hidden gems and those less known places.”

In an effort to attract more Chinese visitors to the UK, many British tourism agencies have provided customised services for Chinese tourists. In addi-tion, the British government is also working on of-fering convenient visa policies. Dominique Hardy, the regional manager of UK Visas and Immigration in China and North Korea, notes that the govern-ment has been working hard in relation to the issue of visas for Chinese visitors.

“We’ve listened to our customers and responded with a range of options,” Hardy points out. “For instance, we’ve introduced the 3-to-5-day priority visa service, and most recently, in August (of 2014), the 24 hour super priority visa. We already offer long-term multiple entry visas. In addi-tion to our standard service, we offer one-year, two-year, five-year to ten-year multi-entry visas. One of the newest policies here in China is the introduction of the British-Irish visa scheme. If you apply for a UK visa, then you can travel not only to Scotland, Wales, England, Northern Ireland, but you can also go to the Republic of Ireland on the same visa.”

After the campaign came to a conclusion in March, Vis-itBritain revealed that the activity reached 300 million potential Chinese tourists via the national tourism agency’s influential Weibo and WeChat social media platforms in China. Furthermore, the event yielded 13,000 new names for consideration, suggested throughout a ten-week period at the start of the year.

This is arguably an outstanding achievement utilising a sim-ple idea that has resonated with Chinese audiences, proving to be a very useful method for promoting Great Britain as a tourist destination. According to VisitBritain, all 101 points of interest have now been given their three most popular Chinese names and the organisation will work together with the attractions to decide which name to go for and how they might use the results.Photo: Tom Eversley

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Popular Suggestions:The Welsh village of

LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRN-DROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH

建肺村永(lit: Strong Lung Village)

HADRIAN’S WALL

恒之脊(lit: The Eternal Ridge)

THE SHARD

尚得乐塔(lit: Alluring and Joyful Pagoda)

Source: www.greatnames.visitbritain.com

CULTURE CULTURE


China and Britain established formal diplomatic relations in 1972 but the affinity between the two nations can be traced back several centuries. China,

due to its vast landscapes, ethnically diverse pop-ulation and venerable culture, has enraptured countless foreigners.

In the eyes of American photojournalist Tom Carter, living in this eastern land is “an endless scroll of expe-riences”. Yet for British novelist, speaker and business-man Adam Williams, China has a more profound connotation. Williams’ family has lived and worked in China from the late Nineteenth Century and a great part of his family history has already intertwined with the evolution of modern China.

As Williams explains, “I come from a family which has lived in China since the 1890s. Two sets of great grandfathers came out about the same time. One was a medical missionary, the other one was a railway engineer. I was born in Hong Kong, my mother was born in Qinhuangdao, her mother was born in Changchun and my great grandfather was born in Beijing! So we have a long China pedigree.”

From the Boxer Rebellion and the warlord era to the birth of the Chinese Communist Party and the Japanese invasion, this expatriate family lived through China’s key incidents and their experiences mirrored the crucible of the country’s recent history.

Talking more about his ancestors, Williams notes, “They were coming to China to provide very similar things to what people like me would come to China to provide in the 1980s. I mean they were bringing electricity, railways, new ideas and all sorts of westernisation. This caused great friction in many ways, whether it was manifested in the rejection of it, or the adoption of it.”

Although the family left China during the Second World War and later settled in the colonised Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland was always a strong presence throughout Williams’ childhood. As elders told stories of Chinese warlords, such as Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin, romantic imagery plus a slice of mystery constituted the impression of China for a young Adam Williams.

“When I was naughty as a little boy, my mother would tell me, ‘You be good, or Zhang Zuolin will come to get you.’ I didn’t know who Zhang Zuolin was; I thought he was a monster with big teeth. But I could tell you that I have been scared of Zhang Zuolin all my life. “

Growing up with a deep understanding about Chinese history and with encouragement from his father, Adam Williams inevitably followed in his predecessors’ foot-steps. In 1980, Williams joined the Sino-British Trade Council, an organisation that promotes bilateral trade and investment. Five years later, he ended up living in Beijing and has been actively engaged with China-re-lated business practices ever since.

“Sino-British trade now is better than it has ever been,” Williams explained to CRI. “The amount of bilateral trade, the amount of investment both ways is innumerous. I think there is occasionally political squabble, but it is like the storm on the surface of the lake; underneath there’s actually a very strong bond. I think there is great mutual respect and friendship.”

In 1999, as chairman of the British Chamber of Com-merce in China, Williams received an Order of the British Empire from the Queen due to his contribution towards the bilateral trade between the UK and China.

But his real passion doesn’t lie with commerce. From 1997 onwards, making full use of his spare time, this successful businessman started to put pen to paper. Inspired by his family heritage in China, his literary debut “The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure,” set in north-ern China in the late Nineteenth Century, went on to become an international bestseller.

William’s second instalment in his China trilogy, “The Emperor’s Bones” extensively examines the turmoil of the country in the 1920s and has sparked heated discussion among critics and readers, since few Chinese writers have ever examined this period of history so extensively. Despite receiving overwhelming praise, this inter-nationally acclaimed novelist remains indifferent to the opinions of others who challenge his attempt to write about Chinese history.

“People ask me about how could you write China as a foreigner and I think, am I a foreigner? I have been here for four gener-ations. You know, this is my world.” Now, living happily with his wife and famous writer Hong Ying, and their daughter in Beijing, the 62-year-old Williams still acts as a consultant to help many British enterprises enter the Chinese market.

After thirty years of working in China, Williams says he is still amazed by the fast growth of the reawakened nation and feels lucky to live in such a dynamic country. “The privilege of being in China for the last thirty years is extraordinary. China has compressed what took Europe two hundred years to develop into thirty years; whether culturally, whether socially, whether agriculturally, whether industrially. “

As something of a China expert, Williams also adds that for many British people, China remains an exotic place. At the same time, there are still plenty of myths about Britain among Chinese people. In terms of promoting mutual communication, the road seems long, but with the help of cultural ambassa-dors like Adam Williams alongside high-level events such as the UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, people from both nations can come together and enhance their understanding.

THIS IS MY WORLD By Li Shiyu

The privilege of being in China for the last 30 years is extraordinary.

China has compressed what took Europe 200

years to develop into 30 years.

Title image (top left):

Graphic adapted from a photograph taken in 1913 featuring British medical missionary Dr. David Muir (man sitting) and his family on leave from China. Muir practiced medicine in northeastern China from the 1890s and received a medal from the Qing Emperor for his contribution of dealing with the plague. The girl standing, wearing white, was Muir’s daughter and Adam Williams’ grandmother, Catherine.

A British Family History Mirrors the Upheavals of ChinaAdam Williams’ father Peter Williams, Chairman of the Royal Hong Kong

Jockey Club, with the Queen at the Jockey Club of Hong Kong. (Photo provided by Adam Williams)

HISTORY HISTORY


British exports to China have grown so strongly that the UK government decided to appoint its first agriculture and food counsellor in China to explore

more opportunities in the world’s second largest economy. The Chinese demand for British milk, pork, Yorkshire tea and salmon brought about a 12-percent jump in food exports to China last year. British pork producers are looking at selling pig’s trotters to China, where the products are popular and the market is massive.

This is just one aspect of the all-around rela-tionship between China and the UK. The two economies are complementary, with Britain en-joying strength in the creative sector, technology and financial management, and China boasting a market soon to be the largest for almost every-thing Britain produces.

There’s also strategic consideration on both sides to build a long-term strong bilateral rela-tionship. One example has been the UK taking the lead in joining the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and thus becoming the first major Western power endors-ing the financial institution.

In explaining the decision to become a founding member of the bank, British Chancellor George Osborne said, “Joining the AIIB at the founding stage will create an unrivalled opportunity for the UK and Asia to invest and grow together.”

The British decision is wise on many accounts; it will secure better opportunities to influence the policies of the bank from inside rather than the absurd theory of being an influencing force from outside the bank. It will also beef up Britain’s presence in Asia, where the world’s most dynamic economies are located.

Tremendous goodwill has also been handed to the UK on behalf of China. The fact that other Western countries followed suit to join the bank reveals the strategic wisdom of the UK in exploring a long-term and future-oriented relationship with China.

The China-policy-making in London has roots in the accurate understanding of today’s China. Prime Minister David Cameron said last year that the rise of China was “one of the defining events of our century” and that Britain wanted to strengthen ties on every level, from business to cultural under-standing. Britain has traditionally excelled in con-ducting its foreign policy in modern times either by forging a special relationship with the United States, or by embracing the rise of China.

CHINA BRITAINRELATIONSHIP GROWSEVER STRONGERBy Xu Qinduo

Another extraordinary example has been the British openness to investment from Huawei, the world’s second largest telecom equipment maker. After being rejected by the United States under the excuse of constituting a “national security threat”, Huawei also experienced similar frustration in countries like Australia and Canada, which simply followed Washington in lock step.

But London stands out in welcoming Huawei’s investment to flow into the British market. In response, Huawei worked close-ly with the British government by setting up an independent cyber security evaluation centre in Oxford in 2010 to check if its equipment could pose a threat to national security.

The latest news is that Huawei has been given a clean bill when a British government report concluded that the Chinese com-pany does not present any threat to national security. If there’s one thing to say about how Britain has won China’s respect, it must be the UK’s independence in exercising its sovereign decision-making power, a trait not seen in every country.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October 1949, Britain recognised Beijing in January 1950 and then post-ed a chargé d’affaires. At least two British delegations visited Beijing that year.

Prime Minister Cameron was said to project the UK as the best friend of China in the Western world. If that’s true, London certainly matches its policies with actions. Late last year, the UK government successfully issued a sovereign bond in RMB, the Chinese currency, and thus became the first Western coun-try to do so. The issuance signalled the RMB’s potential as a fu-ture reserve currency. It also cemented Britain’s position as the most important RMB market among the developed countries.

There is pragmatic consideration in both London and Beijing for the sake of national interests. But what is more valuable is the British way to engage with a rising power like China, which is constructive and productive. That’s a sharp contrast to the confrontational and sometimes combative approach adopted by other countries.

The China-policy-making in London has roots in the

accurate understanding of today’s China.

OPINION OPINION

Illustration: Robert Wiggin


Towards a China-Brit FlickBy Chloe Lyme

In recognition of China’s potential and growing influence on the global enter-tainment industry, countries around the world have been holding Chinese film

festivals, often coinciding with the Beijing International Film Festival, which took place in Beijing during May, 2015. Unsurprising-ly, Britain lived up to its creative heritage by holding one such film festival during May - the China International Film Festival London.

The China International Film Festival London has been one of the most prestigious and far-reach-ing overseas Chinese film events to date. The two nations have come together to encourage attention and support from international audiences by intro-ducing Chinese films to the UK, with the hope of motivating filmmakers from both sides to connect and share their ideas.

Carma Elliot, the British Cultural and Education Minister and Director of the British Council, says the festival is a great way for filmmakers from China and the UK to connect, adding that, “It’s really important that people in the UK can see what’s coming out from China and making it more accessible; bringing it to London so people can go along. And when it is part of a film festival it gives it profile as well so it helps directors and producers here, the industry here, to connect into the UK.”

The London-based festival emphasises traditional Chinese cultural elements within the industry’s communication practices. By intro-ducing fresh Chinese movies to the UK, organisers of the China International Film Festival London aim to show industry insiders and audiences a new angle to filmmaking and story-telling.

Hong Kong director Peter Chan, whose latest work “Dearest” received widespread attention and praise at last year’s event, believes that festivals such as the one held in London are highly beneficial for Chinese filmmakers.

China and the UK recently signed a co-production treaty, and future China International London Film Festivals will give filmmakers, both young and old, a chance to see that there is now an accessible platform for production between the two countries. The event is very much about the next generation and making those connections for the future; borrowing from the theme of the British activities in China as part of the UK China Year of Cultural Exchange.

As for the environment at London-based festival, Chinese actress Yan Bingyan told CRI that the festival, which is currently in its third year, has a very young feel to it, adding that she was surprised to see “so many young people work-ing on such a magnificent film festival. The atmosphere was very young, vigorous and fashionable.” But the real question for those involved in the film industries of both respective countries is how long is it likely to be until China and the UK come together to make a feature film.

According to Amanda Nevill, CEO of the British Film Institute, there are a few hurdles they need to jump, but she believes that it won’t be long before the two countries produce a film together. “We know that there are projects in the incubator, but obviously this takes time,” Nevill explained, adding, “There are also things like language to get round and understanding cultures. The whole point of making a film together is making it together, so you have to understand each other’s audiences, but you know we are on our way.”

The whole point of making a film together is making it together, so

you have to understand each other’s audiences, but you

know we are on our way.

CINEMA CINEMA


Training the Next Generation of Film Talents in the UK & ChinaBy Li Shiyu

The British film industry is no doubt the subject of admiration throughout the cinematic world. While Chinese inter-est in film suffered some bumpy days in

the past, the country has now overtaken Japan to become the world’s second largest movie market, behind the United States of America. However, there are few intersections between British and Chinese cinema. However, young film talents in Britain and China will soon have the chance to learn from some of the masters of cinema from each respective nation.

Being coached by Academy-award winner Ed-die Redmayne or learning tricks from Chinese ink-wash animation masters may sound im-plausible for newcomers in the film industry, but the British Academy of Film and Televi-sion Arts (BAFTA) has announced that it is no longer a far-fetched dream for Chinese talents and British nationals.

As part of the latest expansion of the Acade-my’s global scholarship activity, it is expected that from 2016, this leading British institu-tion will enable people from both countries in financial need to study film, television, or game design as an international student in the UK or the Chinese mainland respectively (The scholarship program in Hong Kong has been active since 2014).

In explaining why the academy chose to focus specifically on China, Anne Morrison, Chair of BAFTA said, “So much is happening in China and beyond. We really want and need to extend our reach to China, because it’s such a fast-developing industry here. China is second only to the United States in terms of box office revenues. So it’s a huge, huge market. Increas-ingly our members are looking to China as they develop their art forms. So we thought it’s a tremendous opportunity here to promote creative collaboration between people in Chi-na and in the UK.”

According to Tim Hunter, Director of Leaning and Events at BAFTA, successful applicants not only receive financial support for their tuition and living expenses, but more im-portantly, they will be appointed a personal mentor from the Academy’s large pool of distinguished members. As for what the role of mentor entails, Hunter pointed out that, “A men-tor is not only advising you on your study, on your career direction. They also become a champion for you. They can introduce you to their network and really show you how the industry actually works.”

More than four hundred students have applied for the British scheme so far, and even though only ten to twelve lucky ones will be selected, Hunter says the enthusiasm remains high, adding, “I think students nowadays are very aware that the industries become more global. Being familiar with all the aspects of China, being able to speak the language, being able to understand how these industries work and what audiences like and have a network with people having all those different things really set you above other people. It’s very much open to everyone. They can then become the ambassadors for the UK industry in China and the Chinese industry in the UK.”

According to Anne Morrison, Chair of BAFTA, since the key mission of the Academy is to identify, support and promote tal-ents; the scholarship scheme in China is merely the beginning. As the Year of UK-China Cultural Exchange proceeds, this creative collaboration will likely lead to further engagement among the next generation of filmmakers.

As Morrison explains, “You have all these agreements in the world, but you need people to know each other and get excited by a conversation, which might just spark an idea, then leads to an amazing film. So we are hoping to put people together. That’s what we are good at; running events, letting people network with each other and see each other’s work, and be exposed to different cultures. That’s our program over the next few years in China.”

The BAFTA programs in China also include the estab-lishment of master classes and online networking, which will allow practitioners from both Britain and China to share experiences.

Increasingly our members are looking to China as they

develop their art forms.

22

CINEMA


Shanghai Mathematicsby Duan Xuelian with additions

As part of an ongoing exchange project between the British Department for Education and the Shanghai Mu-nicipal Education Commission, two

groups of mathematics teachers from Shanghai were sent to Britain last November in an attempt to promote the Chinese method of teaching maths in the classroom.

The Chinese approach of teaching mathemat-ics has been welcomed by local teachers and students, which is being referred to as the ‘Shanghai-style’ of maths. One of its key fea-tures is the use of precise, technical mathemat-ics language even when teaching children as young as seven or eight. Wang Chengjun is an experienced maths teacher from Shanghai and taught at the Wroxham School near London as part of the exchange project.

Wang says British maths teaching methods tend to have a variety of ways for expressing one mathematical operation. Wang adds that British maths teachers have at least 6 ways to express a single mathematical formula. Instead of provid-ing a precise function, children in Britain simply need to express the meaning of the formula. It’s quite different from in China.

Wang further elaborated upon the differences in teaching methods with the use of a concrete example. “When it comes to subtraction,” Wang says, “you can use an expression like ‘take away’ to refer to a minus sign. You can say take 2 apples way from 5 apples. But you are required

to write down 5 minus 2 equals 3 when it comes to the exact formula. However, in Britain, you can choose minus, take away, reduce or deduct to express such an action. This kind of teaching approach might do little in helping children to establish a precise conceptual grasp of mathematics.”

Sally Barker is a maths teacher at Wroxham School who assists her Chinese colleagues in teaching and commu-nicating with local teachers and students. Sally finds that her students are enjoying the benefits of the Chinese teachers’ way of encouraging them to seek out logical and precise solutions to mathematical problems by them-selves. “When they were creating the 10-times table, the chil-dren had worked with number lines to look that one lot of 10, two lots of 10. They had all chosen different ones. And then as a class, they share their findings. And rather than saying this is how you do your 10 times table -- you’ve got your unit and you add your zero, it’s like ‘what do you notice?’, and the children discover the pattern, so it means more to them.”

In addition to the teacher exchange, British publisher Harper Collins is said to be planning to publish a se-ries of “Shanghai maths” text books in an effort to pop-ularise the methods that have allowed maths students in Shanghai to perform well in the annual Programme for International Student Assessment.

Instead of providing a precise function, children in Britain simply need to express the meaning of the formula. It’s

quite different from in China.

Wang Chengjun from Shanghai gives a class at Wroxham School near London (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian)

Yao Yunfei gives instruction to a student at Wroxham School near London

(Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian)

EDUCATION

In an age of strategies and mission statements, there can be few universities in the modern age which do not profess to be “global” or “interna-tional” in outlook or ambition. If a reputation as a truly international university is not a reality for all universities at present, it is at least a goal to which almost all now aspire to.

There should be no surprise in this. Higher Ed-ucation is no different from all other sectors - in that we now all operate in the so-called “global village” and the entire world is our market place. However, for the University of Edinburgh, the focus on creating a truly international place of learning is nothing new. We have been an international university since our creation in 1583, attracting staff and students from all four corners of the world for centuries.

As part of that drive to be regarded as a global player, China has always been extremely import-ant to us. We have had strong links with Chinese students for well over 150 years and in 1855 we became the first European university from which a Chinese student graduated - the much cele-brated Huang Kuan, who left us with a degree in medicine in 1855.

Since those early days we have built steadily on our relationship with China in recognition of its global economic and cultural significance. Our relation-ship with the country recognises its commitment to study and academic excellence, producing as it does some of the world’s finest academics and most gifted students - across all disciplines.

The year 2005 saw two important milestones in terms of the University of Edinburgh’s relationship with China. We became the first university in Scotland to establish what has now become a highly successful Confucius Institute and we also opened our China office. Based in Beijing, the Office has been run for the past 10 years by Dr Nini Yang, who herself

was brought up in the Chinese capital, and has an inti-mate knowledge of the city, the country and its cultural and educational diaspora.

“China is extremely important to us as a global region,” she says. “It was the first office overseas which the Uni-versity of Edinburgh established, to be followed in later years by similar operations in India, Latin America and the US. China produces students of a high quality who genuinely want to come to University to learn and devel-op themselves; whether that’s in science, medicine or the arts and humanities. It also has extremely high quality universities which we look to develop relationships with for academic collaboration and partnerships; whether that is in teaching or research.”

The success of the University’s China office speaks for itself. When it opened in 2005 there were less than 500 Chinese students enrolled at Edinburgh - there are now almost 2,000 and they make up one of the highest percentages of overseas students at the University. Since then partnerships with China have flourished too. Edinburgh now has official links with some 50 leading universities in China either at faculty or university level and, thanks to its work with the China Scholarship Coun-cil, can provide scholarships for up to 20 postgraduate students from China every year.

Examples of the highly successful collaborative partnerships Edinburgh is involved in with Chinese universities include the joint low carbon finance centre that has been established with Peking University Guanghua Management School and, most recently, the pioneering joint Institute of Biomedical Sciences with Zhejiang University, launched in May 2016.

Edinburgh now has the highest number of research col-laborations with Chinese HE institutions of any Scottish university. On campus in Edinburgh itself, it has a thriving Chinese Student Association and students from China do much to add a sense of cultural vibrancy and diversity to the streets of the Scottish capital. Since the early days of Huang Kuan in 1855, its links with China have gone from strength to strength and recently the University marked the contribu-tion of one of its most celebrated Chinese alumni - Pro-fessor Zhong Nanshan - for his work on the SARS virus, with an honorary degree.

“We have much to be proud of, both historically and more recently, in terms of the way we have developed our links with China for the good of both our countries, our academics and our students,” says Dr Yang. “But there is more to be done and I look forward to the future with confidence for more progress. The University of Edinburgh is one of the UK’s great universities with a proud history and an exciting future. It is a university which covers an incredibly broad range of academic disciplines and our goal is to make it the first international choice of people in China - whether they’re thinking of studying overseas or developing hugely beneficial academic partnerships abroad.”

The Importance of China to an Ancient Scottish UniversityRobert Tomlinson, Head of Media and Communi-cations, Deputy Director of Communications and Marketing, University of Edinburgh.

26 27MESSENGER MESSENGEROPPORTUNITY

Amongst the many cultural achieve-ments that Britain is proud to promote in China, there is one particular export that has managed to capture the atten-

tion of the much valued 18-30 year old market in China, namely the BBC’s adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

Britain, too, shares the obsession; so much so that a myth-busting exhibition, which explored the character of the fictional detective, was held at the Museum of London for an impressive 6 months between 2014 and 2015. It’s a character that’s been endlessly adapted while retaining its essence as a cerebral sleuth, forensic scientist, drug-taking bohemian and archetypal Englishman. But what is it that has made the latest adaptation of Sherlock so popular in China?

The answer lies mostly in the character of Sherlock himself, and the style in which it is portrayed by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. The Museum of London’s exhibition, which ran from October 2014 until April of this year, put Sherlock Holmes under the magnifying glass. Many tourists who visit Britain still see through the eyes of the London detective, and often seek out the Baker Street ad-dress he called home.

Through film clips, costumes, Nineteenth Century forensic equipment and more, the exhibition followed the character of Holmes from an idea in Conan Doyle’s notebook to the smart phone-toting modern detective played by Cumberbatch in the BBC television series.

As for why the Museum of London decided to devote such a sizeable period of time to the fictional character, the exhibi-tion’s lead curator, Alex Werner pointed out that, “Sherlock Holmes is the world’s most famous fictional detective and there seems to be an incredible interest at the moment in this character and we felt this was the opportune time to do it.”

For those fans that were lucky enough to visit the exhibition, perhaps the most exciting exhibit was a manuscript which showed how Conan Doyle formulated his main characters. ‘A Study in Scarlet’ - the first of two short novels which feature Holmes - shows how at one point the main characters’ names were under consideration.

Conan Doyle’s first two short novels made little impact, but when the short stories began to appear in Strand Magazine the detective became a literary sensation. Regarding the moment at which Sherlock first comes to fruition, known as the ‘Sherrin-ford Holmes page’ within the manuscript, Werner notes that, “this is the moment that we really get the word Holmes for the first time, but Sherlock hasn’t arrived yet.”

According to historian David Cannadine, what makes Holmes such an intriguing character is his changeable persona. “One of the interesting aspects of Holmes is that he’s this very schizophrenic creation,” Cannadine states. “On the one side, he’s Superman who can do everything - and Superman in fact appeared just before the Holmes and Wat-son stories start - but on the other side, he’s a kind of Oscar Wilde, decadent and aesthete. And it’s getting work, getting detection, getting the job to do, that transformed Holmes from being the wild and decadent aesthete into the ener-getic and infallible Superman.”

And it is exactly that kind of unpredictable character that has been taking to the red carpet of late. Benedict Cum-berbatch has managed to bring ‘Sherlock’ into the Twen-ty-first Century. And it is here where people asking the question why Sherlock resonates with Chinese audiences may find the answer.

The actor’s charm and wit are representations of a very specific stereotype that seems to abound in China, regarding the so-called British gentleman. Set aside the apparent drug addiction and lack of emotional empathy, and Cumberbatch is basically the modern-day version of the British male ste-reotype. Add to that the homoerotic undertones between the two main characters that Chinese audiences are so keen to infer and you’re on to a winner.

Sherlock HolmesA Very British Chinese Obsession

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman gained early success with their depiction of Sherlock on the BBC and are now recognisable faces in China.(Photo: China Foto Press/Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

ICON ICON

CHINA


As the UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange reaches its halfway point, MESSENGER presents the views of two academics from the respective

countries, assessing the use of cultural activities as part of achieving foreign policy.

Prof. Gao Jian, deputy director of the British Studies Centre at Shanghai International Studies University

The role played by soft power and cultural diplo-macy in the foreign policy of the UK

In the past few decades, soft power has been a popular term in political studies. It was first raised by Joseph Nye, the American scholar. Highly relative to soft power, we have the term Cultural Diplomacy; which has been regarded as one of the important parts in terms of foreign policy. Previously, especially in the Nineteenth Century, and in the early part of the Twentieth Century, the UK used to be a very powerful, influential nation (both) politically and econom-ically. However, after the Second World War, obviously the UK declined politically.

Therefore, Cultural Diplomacy is a very import-ant policy which was fully adopted previously (up until) now in the UK’s foreign policy. We all know they have a very important organisation named the British Council, which focuses on the export of language and culture. We all know English has been a world language, and the UK’s cultural industry has been regarded as one of the most leading (examples) in the world. Therefore, I would like to say Cultural Diplomacy has been regarded as extremely important and indispens-able in terms of UK foreign policy.

If Cultural exchange is ongoing, why do we need a high-profile event at the official level like the UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange?

The year of cultural exchange is a very good high-light of the importance of culture. We all know obviously (there is a) kind of misunderstanding be-tween Western and Chinese culture. Therefore, in order to ensure a promising future for the bilateral relations between China and the UK, we have to

have a better, deeper and more profound mutual understanding culturally, besides economic and political (relations). So we say cultural mutual understanding would lay a consolidated foun-dation for the China-UK bilateral relations’ future.

I would like to say that the Year of Cultural Exchange would expedite and enhance the deeper and more pro-found mutual understanding between the UK and China. Another thing I would like to emphasise is that today we say culture is business. Today, in terms of the bilateral relations between the UK and China, business plays an extremely important role. Therefore, I think the Year of Cultural Exchange would be very meaningful not only culturally, but also economically and commercially.

What is your take on the theme “Next Generation” for the UK activities in China?

The UK is a very experienced country in terms of foreign policy. Today they focus on the subject of the future, because they’ve titled it the Next Generation. I think it’s a very skilful and successful term to describe their strategy. I would like to elaborate the Next Generation (concept) from two perspectives.

Number one, if you refer to all the activities hosted by the UK parties, these are very much characterised by innovation and creativity. They have creative industries, cultural industries, design, fashion shows, animation and movie dramas. These are (examples) of innovation and creativity. The second part I want to emphasise is that between China and the UK, there’s a very important program focusing upon the exchange of youth; called Generation UK.

(The UK) wants to send more and more young students to go to China and study and work in China in order to get more familiar with Chinese culture and Chinese people. So, between the UK and China, we have an agreement that we should focus on our future and our generation of youngsters would be extremely important for our future bilateral relationship. So I think Next Generation is very meaningful as a choice.

The Importance of Royal Figureheads

The visit of Prince William is really a shining part and should really arouse tremendous interest, not only official-ly but from the ordinary Chinese people, because Chinese people have a fantasy about the Royal Family of Britain. Let me give you an example; do you know which brand in Britain is the most commercially profitable brand? It’s the Royal Family.

The Royal Family as a brand in commerce is very market-able. It’s quite easy for the Royal Family to arouse attention from the public. It’s really very skilful and successful for the British Government to choose William as a kind of selling point to enhance the UK season in China, during their Next Generation programme.

Chinese Creation is the theme for the second half of the Year of Cultural Exchange. Will the stereo-type of China as the “world’s factory” have a nega-tive impact on efforts to promote Chinese cultural creativity in the UK?

I agree that previously China’s image very much related to a “world factory”, or “Made in China”. I’m not going to deny there’s some kind of nega-tive impact if we are still going to be regarded as a country like that. But I would like to say that it would be very narrow-minded if we have no notice of China’s progress in high technology and creative industry in the past few years.

China is not as China was in previous years. If you refer to some high technology in China, you will find that actually we have been making a lot of progress in a lot of creative industries and hi-tech industries. The programme we are going to hold in the next few months will be a very im-portant opportunity and chance for us to modify and change our national image in terms of being the world factory.

UK Embracing Chinese Cultural Exports

We should be patient. Sometimes, there are a lot of stereotyped ideas in terms of the interpre-tation of China. As far as I know, especially in the past 4 or 5 years, China’s image in this part has very much changed. I have articles from the leading newspapers in the UK that say ‘we

should learn a lot from China in terms of high technology; because China has made a lot of progress.’ However, I’m not going to deny that we still have a long way to go and to cov-er. So, we should be open-minded and we should be active in the mutual communication.

Gary Rawnsley, Prof. of Public Diplomacy at the Depart-ment of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, UK

Assessing China’s Soft Power Profile in the UK

I think that China is more visible now in the UK than at any time in the past. We are more familiar with China; we’re fa-miliar with Chinese food and cinema. We have thousands of students from China in the UK now. I think that the British people are becoming more familiar with China, becoming more comfortable about interaction with China.

I think that China’s profile is doing very, very well. Soft power is different. Soft power means that China would be influencing the way that people think about China and I’m not sure that there has been enough research yet to understand whether people’s behaviours and attitudes towards China are changing because of China’s activities in the UK.

The Pros and cons of Cultural Activities led by Governments

There can be difficulties when these kinds of activities are led by governments. Whichever government it is, whether it’s Brit-ish, American, Chinese or whatever, there is often a suspicion that what is happening is the government is pursuing its own political agenda. And obviously, then the horrible word of ‘pro-paganda’ can often arise in terms of those activities.

Cultural Exchange:The Academic Opinion

Photo: Tom Eversley isorepublic.com

29

POLITICS POLITICS

CHINA

30 31MESSENGER MESSENGER 31

At the same time, even with non-governmen-tal level cultural relations, governmental in-volvement is important because they are often the ones that provide the infrastructure for non-governmental activities to take place; in terms of arranging things, in terms of visas, in terms of funding perhaps, in terms of facilitat-ing some of the exchanges that take place.

I think what we have here is a very direct ex-ample of how governments can be involved in cultural relations but they’re not directly pur-suing a political agenda. I think the fact that the British Council is also very involved with this activity shows that this is not as political as perhaps some people would claim it to be.

Explaining the “Next Generation” Theme

There are multiple ways of understanding the theme of Next Generation. In purely practical terms, I think that this demonstrates that we’re thinking about the next generation of cultural actors; the next generation of artists, musicians, cultural actors, the innovators I think, and the creativity that is now being seen in the next generation of artists.

I think that we need to remember that public diplomacy, soft power, cultural diplomacy work on a long term basis; it’s not something that can happen overnight. The theme of Next Generation highlights that very well. What we’re doing is devel-oping relations between China and the UK for the next generation of British and Chinese subjects. We are deepening relations that will be long-lasting and I think that that’s the most important aspect.

With regard to the Chinese season in the UK as part of the Year of Cultural exchange, are there barriers to overcome in terms of the Made in China label?

I think that there are fewer barriers now than there were in the past. Obviously, China is still seen as the exotic other; it’s seen as something that is less familiar perhaps than our European neighbours. People are still a little bit wary of the language for example, and the cultural barriers to understanding Chinese cultural products. At the same time, Chinese culture is be-coming far more popular in the UK than it was before. People are watching Chinese films in ever greater numbers; Chinese restaurants are flourishing; we have exhibitions by Chinese artists.

So, I don’t think that there are too many barriers now. I think people are much more receptive to engaging with foreign cultural products than at any time in the past. Rather than talk about barriers, we have to talk about opportunities, and I think there’s a wonderful opportunity here for deepening relations between the UK and China on a non-political, cultural level.

Cultural Exchange = Business Opportunities?

I think we’ve already seen the fact that it’s not just about making money. I think that culture is a vital part of today’s economic environment. People depend for their jobs on culture. Economies depend upon cultural exchanges and business can be a very profit-able byproduct of cultural exchange.

I think that what is happening now is the fact that culture is first and foremost the priority of our relationship this year in the Year of Cultural Exchange and business will be a side issue. I don’t think it’s possible to say that we should be very cynical about this and say that this is all about profit and business. I think that people who are not involved in business and not in it to make money will be engaging both with Chinese and with British cultural products, and enjoying those cultural products when not making money.

PPhoto: China Foto Press/Rob Stothard/Getty Images

In the year of the first-ever UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, what’s new when it comes to trade cooperation between the two nations?

Dr. Catherine Raines, Minister at the British Embassy in Beijing and Director-General for UK Trade and Investment in China discusses some of the

new trends in Sino-UK economic relations.

British Institutions as a Benchmark

It is true that since 2010, goods exports to China have more than doubled. This is partly because the economies of China and the UK are kind of converging in the sense that the things that we’re really good at in the UK, particularly around creativity and innovation, across all the sectors – not just those sectors that are typically thought of creative – some of the areas in particular for example might be healthcare. China of course has an enormous population and is very proud of the fact that it provides universal healthcare to everybody.

The challenge now for China, I think, is very similar to that in the UK; you have an ageing population. Healthcare is an expensive thing to provide. You want to be able to provide it in a way that is equal for ev-erybody. The UK has the most fantastic model in the National Health Service, recently described as the best healthcare model in the world, and we’re very keen to share our experience of developing that with China. So, there are lots of areas where we can collaborate.

Core Competencies of Chinese Enterprises

One of the things that I think is tremendous here is the innovation and the appetite and the ambition. It’s one of the things that I first noticed when I came to Shanghai in 2006; the energy of the place. Everybody works very, very hard; very diligent. I think people work very hard in the UK as well, so I think that’s a really good match. But one of the other things that I think we have in common, which will be a strong point for Chinese businesses, is that our creativity is based on a real respect for our culture.

I was talking to the chairwoman of Wensli, the big (Hangzhou-based) silk company the other day; we were talking about how fantastic it is to have that culture un-derpinning your creativity and really take that to a new

Business Through Culture and Culture Through Businesslevel. We were talking about her company and I was drawing a com-parison with a company called Gieves and Hawkes in the UK, which is a gentlemen’s fashion design company. They’re doing a similar thing; they’re really taking the very best of heritage designs and putting a modern twist. So, actually, I think Chinese companies will find it very easy to integrate with the UK just because we have this deep under-standing of culture but a real drive and ambition to put a modern twist on it and go forward into the 21st Century with that.

Challenges that Chinese Companies Face in the UK

Of course, any country that is a long way away and has different systems, then you have to get to know those systems. And you have to be aware of what the market is, and you have to be aware of how to operate in that market; different culture, different rules. One of example of the cultural differences that I can give you is that public relations are very, very important in the west. It’s less important here in China. So there are differences like that.

We’ve got a great scheme at the moment at one of our universities in the UK. Chinese students are now being given placements in UK companies and the reason we’re doing that is because we want to try to get over the problem that are inherent in the question (of what challenges Chinese companies face). We think that if Chinese students go to work in British companies, then that’s a real win-win.

The Chinese students will learn about what it’s like to work in a British company, and the British company will get the benefit of having a Mandarin speaking employee that also understands the Chinese way of doing business; so everybody benefits from that. There are 135,000 Chinese students in the UK, more than any other foreign nationality actually, where we’re really getting this fantastic cross-collaboration between our two cultures, between our two nations. I really believe that education is hugely important.

Cultural Exchange in 2015

We were talking about education and how important that is. Cultural exchange is the same really. It’s almost the twin, if you like, of education because it’s the other way that we can really share experiences together; really get to know one another. The cultures are different and it’s very important to be respectful of those cultures. But there’s a famous saying about friendship first, business second. So I think culture, it’s sometimes referred to as soft power.

I don’t really always like that quite so much, because it makes it sound like a power thing, which I don’t think it is. I think it’s a relationships thing actually. The more that we can have really great, really constructive relationships and friendships, and many of those are created over cultural activities, it will really help us in a number of ways. It will help us do business through culture and culture through business; it’s both.

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