Since becoming the Chinese ambassador in London more than nine years ago, I have attended hundreds of education-related events. And I am convinced that flourishing educational co-operation is an important source of strength for relations between China and the UK.
Recently, however, the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee issued a report accusing China of “interfering” with academic freedom in British universities. The charge is groundless and highly misleading.
On the contrary, educational exchanges enhance understanding between the peoples of the two countries. There are now more than 100,000 Chinese students in the UK, and several thousand British students studying in China. More than an estimated 400m Chinese people are learning English. In the UK, more than 600 schools are offering Chinese language courses and more than 190,000 people are studying Chinese in 30 Confucius Institutes and 161 Confucius classrooms.