BRITISH COUNCIL OPERATIONS IN MAINLAND
CHINA
210. The Council is not free to operate independently
in China, but is accepted as the Cultural and Education section
of the British Embassy. In practice, this does not appear to inhibit
its activities, except in the area of English language teaching,
to which we return later. There are British Council offices in
Beijing and in each of the cities where there are Consulates General
(Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing). In Shanghai the offices are
smart, modern and well-designed on the ground floor of a city
centre office block. Large windows are an alluring means of presenting
the United Kingdom to the passer-by, and are an architectural
metaphor for an open society. Both here and in Guangzhou (where
the offices are also modern and appealing, but less dramatically
sited), we found an enthusiastic staff who were showcasing the
United Kingdom in an attractive way.
211. The Council broke their activities in China
down into a number of partially overlapping areas. The first was
the changing of negative and/or outdated perceptions of the United
Kingdom in China. Partly this is tackled through the normal range
of cultural and scientific/technological programmes. The FCO described
these activities as "carefully targeted."[503]
Several examples were given to us by the Council of what might
be described as high culture (the Royal Ballet, Henry Moore etc).[504]
We were, however, also told by Stephen Perry of London Export
Ltd that there was a market opportunity for more popular British
culture, media, sports, leisure and entertainment in China "with
transactions in the hundreds of millions and the prospect of tremendous
profitability within a fairly short time frame."[505]
This suggests that the Council should actively promote British
popular culture in China as well as British high culture. Doing
so will certainly help promote a contemporary image of this country.
212. Sport is an important part of that popular culture,
and James Harding of the Financial Times told us that football
is probably the "greatest common language" between the
United Kingdom and China.[506]
We had frequent evidence of this during our visit where many Chinese
showed an amazing knowledge of English football. We were pleased
to read that the Council is anxious to involve young Chinese,
and that it was undertaking a major event based on British football
in 2000.
213. A further way in which perceptions are changed
is through scholarship programmes and alumni activities with those
who have undertaken scholarship and other training programmes
in the United Kingdom. Dr Jane Duckett of Glasgow University praised
the Council's "good work in promoting British cultural and
educational exchanges."[507]
The jewel in the crown here is the Chevening Scholarship programme,
which is administered by the Council, and under which 135 potential
opinion-formers began masters' programmes in the United Kingdom
in Autumn 2000. This is the largest number of Chevening students
from any one country, and is funded by the FCO at almost £2
million per year.[508]
214. We support the Chevening scholarship programme,
and are particularly pleased by the stress placed by the Council
on follow-up activities. Careful selection of scholars should
result in many future Chinese opinion-formers receiving training
in the United Kingdom which could have spin-offs in all the areas
where we hope to engage China in the future. It is particularly
important that selection of the students is not seen as the end
of the process. They have already expressed their interest in
the United Kingdom, and it is vital that they receive a positive
impression while they are here. They should be mentored and helped
while they are in the United Kingdom, and contact should be maintained
with them when they return to China. We recommend that the
British Council and the FCO maintain a high quality service for
Chevening scholars when they are in the United Kingdom, and seek
to retain positive contact with them when they return home.
215. The British Council is also actively engaged
in the reform process in China. The Council described its activities
in its written evidence, and we heard further details from staff
in China.[509]
The Council is heavily involved in education reform, with, for
example, up to 70 teachers from the Shanghai region sent annually
to Lancaster University with pre-and post-course programmes run
by the Council in Shanghai. A significant contribution is also
made by the Council to the legal reform programme which we have
described earlier, with some of its work supported by the FCO
Human Rights Project Fund. Economic reform is also promoted with,
for example, the Council managing the China Financial Sector Training
Scheme on behalf of DFID. According to the Foreign Secretary,
"the British Council is doing a first class job and as much
as can be expected in both the human rights and the communication
fields within China."[510]
We are delighted by this positive endorsement.
216. Another, and very important area of British
Council activity is essentially the marketing of educational opportunities
in the United Kingdom and the administering of British examinations.
In both of these areas, there is a massive expansion of activity,
as the Charts below demonstrate.

Source: Ev. p. 193, Appendix 22
In the case of Chinese students studying abroad,
we understand that around 40,000 did so in 1999, with around half
going to the USA. The other principal competitor of the United
Kingdom is Japan.
217. Although there are spin-offs from the marketing
of British universities, colleges, schools and examinations in
terms of the FCO objective of promoting change for the better
in China (as the FCO put it, educating young Chinese in the United
Kingdom is "a particularly effective means of improving Britain's
image among young people and of developing a long term influence"[511]),
the principal benefit is to the British institutions concerned.
Essentially the activity is a commercial one, and one which results
in an income both for the institutions in the United Kingdom and
for the Council itself. We believe that this is a sensible use
of the Council in China, and one which clearly demonstrates the
direct advantages to British business of the Council's work. We
are, however, concerned that the Council should ensure that it
only markets opportunities at reputable schools and colleges in
the United Kingdom, and we were pleased to be reassured while
we were in China that there is a rigorous system of quality control.
We trust that rigorous monitoring will continue as it would be
very regrettable if Chinese students received poor quality education
in the United Kingdom, not least because of the negative message
they would carry back to China.
218. In most countries where it operates, the British
Council is actively involved in the teaching of the English language.
This is both a source of funding for the Council, and a means
by which a positive message about the United Kingdom can be promulgated.
In mainland China the Council is not permitted to teach English
directly, though the Council is involved with the BBC World Service
in a pilot English language teaching project.[512]
We were told by British Council officials in China that there
was a huge market for English language teaching in China (Hong
Kong illustrates this), but that all attempts by the Council to
enter the market had been rebuffed by the Chinese. Instead the
Council has for almost 20 years managed a DFID project to develop
English language training in China, but that project is now ending.
The Council told us it is now developing a new strategic approach
to English language teaching. This will combine "showcasing
UK excellence in ELT, building strategic partnerships with partners
in UK and China, promoting innovation in ELT in China, and developing
networks of professionals in ELT in Britain and China."[513]
The Council is attempting to establish, with a Chinese partner,
an English language innovation and teaching centre in Beijing.
All of this is a step away from direct involvement with teaching.
With a growing Chinese economy, much of the post-school English
language teaching in China will be done on a commercial basis,
and it is regrettable that the British Council is not able to
enter this market. In joining the WTO, China has accepted the
principle of improved market access. We recommend that the
British Government again approach the Chinese for permission for
the British Council to become directly involved in English language
teaching in China.
219. The Council told us that there was "virtually
unlimited demand" for its programmes and services in China,
and that part of its strategy was "physical expansion (to
meet the needs of a continent sized country)."[514]
They told us that they would like to provide better access facilities
in Beijing and Guangzhou and greater outreach for its education
promotion activities. As it is, the Council regards its China
operation as "one of its strongest operations worldwide."[515]
Its total country budget for China in 2000-01 was £6.4 million,
£4.0 million of which comes in grant-in-aid from the FCO.
China is one of the Council's "eight global priority operations."[516]
In its initial memorandum, the Council told us that "the
opportunities and demands the Council faces in China can by no
means be met in full with current resources."[517]
We asked the Council what effect the 2000 Spending Review would
have on operations in China, but we were told on 2 November that
the Council "still have to agree the details of the spending
review with the FCO".[518]
According, however, to a recent reply to a parliamentary question,
the new five-year strategy for the Council, and the sums given
in the Spending Review will help "to fund the proposed expansion
in the Council's overseas network, particularly in Russia and
China".[519]
We have elsewhere recommended that the FCO should consider opening
more Consulates General in China.[520]
In the case of Russia, we have recommended that the wide network
of British Council offices (11 in all) should serve as bases for
consular expansion. In the case of China, any new consulate must
have a British Council element. We recommend that funding should
be provided for a British Council presence in any new Consulate
General established in China.
BRITISH COUNCIL OPERATIONS IN HONG
KONG
220. The British Council's office in Hong Kong is
one of its largest in the world. Total income in 2000-01 is £12.5
million, with grant-in-aid amounting to just £2.2 million.
In Hong Kong, the Council's principal activity is English language
teaching, with the English language teaching centre providing
an income of £8.9 million, and 40,000 individuals being taught
each year. As well as direct teaching of English, the Council
is developing a network of over 1,250 English teachers and supporting
SAR Government initiatives to improve English standards. The Council
told us that it was responding to a "widespread and growing
concern throughout the community about the declining standard
of English in schools, at universities and at work."[521]
Other activities in Hong Kong parallel those in mainland China:
promoting United Kingdom education and examinations (12,000 Hong
Kong students were being educated in the United Kingdom in 1999-2000;
14,500 were studying in Hong Kong for British qualifications and
11,500 examinations were conducted), administering Chevening scholarships
and contributing to the reform process, particularly in the areas
of education, the environment and the rule of law.
221. The British Council in Hong Kong is also, as
in China, attempting to "modernise target audiences' perceptions
of the UK."[522]
According to a Council survey, the United Kingdom is seen by many
in Hong Kong as traditional and dull, and is unfavourably contrasted
with the USA or Australia. Consequently, as the Council put it,
"there is a growing need to challenge and change the perceptions
that younger generations have of the UK."[523]
While we were given a warm welcome by the Hong Kong politicians
whom we met, we are only too aware that their generation grew
up inside an environment which naturally looked to the colonial
power in London. That is no longer the case for young Hong Kongers.
It is therefore particularly vital that the strong position the
British Council holds in Hong Kong is built upon to establish
a positive view of the United Kingdom among those from whom British
power in Hong Kong is a historical memory. The special relationship
between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom will not continue to
exist unless it is fostered. We recommend that the British
Council establish a clear, targeted strategy designed to win friends
for the United Kingdom among residents of the Hong Kong SAR aged
under 30.
462 Ev. p. 170, Appendix 15. Back
463
Ev. pp. 227 and 154, Appendices 32 and 5. Back
464
Ev. p. 153, Appendix 4. Back
465
See para. 131. Back
466
Ev. p. 12. Back
467
Ev. p. 172, Appendix 15. Back
468
Ev. p. 201, Appendix 24. Back
469
Ev. p. 41. Back
470
Q135. Back
471
Ev. p. 68. Back
472
Q177. Back
473
Ev. p. 173, Appendix 15. Back
474
Ev. p. 11. Back
475
Ev. p. 173, Appendix 15. Back
476
Ev. p. 112. Back
477
HC 101, Session 1999-2000, Third Report from the Foreign Affairs
Committee, para. 139. Back
478
Ev. p. 112. Back
479
Ev. p. 112. Back
480
Ev. p. 125. Back
481
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/chinese/news/default1.stm. Back
482
Ev. p. 24. Back
483
Q54. Back
484
Ev. p. 24. Back
485
Ev. p. 35. Back
486
Ev. p. 26. Back
487
Ev. p. 35. Back
488
Ev. p. 24. Back
489
Ev. p. 24; Q54. Back
490
Q63. Back
491
QQ234, 263. Back
492
Ev. p. 24. Back
493
Ev. p. 24. Back
494
Ev. p. 24. Back
495
Q262. Back
496
Q59. Back
497
Ev. p. 26. Back
498
Ev. p. 26; Q54. Back
499
Ev. p. 26. Back
500
Ev. p. 167, Appendix 13. Back
501
Q210. Back
502
Ev. pp. 190ff, Appendix 22. Back
503
Ev. p. 103. Back
504
Ev. p. 191, Appendix 22. Back
505
Ev. p. 68. Back
506
Q71. Back
507
Ev. p. 184, Appendix 17. Back
508
Ev. p. 192, Appendix 22; Ev. p. 103. Back
509
Ev. pp. 194ff, Appendix 22. Back
510
Q262. Back
511
Ev. p. 103. Back
512
Ev. p. 35. Back
513
Ev. p. 195, Appendix 22. Back
514
Ev. p. 191, Appendix 22. Back
515
Ev. p. 196, Appendix 22. Back
516
Ev. p. 190, Appendix 22. Back
517
Ev. p. 196, Appendix 22. Back
518
Ev. p. 261, Appendix 45. Back
519
HC Deb 31 October 2000, col. 367W. Back
520
See para. 131. Back
521
Ev. p. 197, Appendix 23. Back
522
Ev. p. 198, Appendix 23. Back
523
Ev. p. 199, Appendix 23. Back