Speaker: Dame Caroline Wilson
Organiser: Professor Todd Hall (University of Oxford)
Dame Caroline Wilson DCMG is a senior British diplomat who served for 5 years as the British Ambassador to China from 2020 to 2025. Her time in Beijing spanned covid, China’s wolf warrior diplomacy, ructions over Hong Kong, economic security and trade, two Chinese Foreign Ministers, 4 British Foreign Secretaries, 5 UK Prime Ministers. And One Chinese President. Dame Caroline travelled the country widely and became known throughout China for her lively Mandarin language v-logs on Weibo which focused on UK-China ties including people to people, and values including diversity and openness. She will share her reflections on the practice of diplomacy in China for half a decade, whether communicating, cooperating or contesting.
A fluent Mandarin speaker, Dame Caroline studied at Beijing Normal University, served in Beijing 1996-2000 and Hong Kong in 2012-16 as HM Consul General. She has worked extensively on Europe – as Antici at the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU in the early 2000s, in the Cabinet Office European Secretariat, subsequently as Europe Director in the Foreign Office. In addition to French and German Caroline speaks Russian, and was Minister Counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow from 2008-12. She also served as Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary. She is a qualified Barrister (Middle Temple) having graduated in Law from the University of Cambridge (Downing College) and has a Masters in European law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Caroline is currently preparing for her next diplomatic appointment.
