An Analysis Of The Characteristics Of British Cultural Association 's Activities In China

Suffering from the side effects of the World War I, the British Empire, once at thepinnacle of power, began its declining journey in the1920s. In order to maintain itsinfluence in the Commonwealth and catch up with other developed countries, Britain alsoembarked on the road of actively using cultural diplomacy. Although Britain was a lateuser of cultural diplomacy, it made great success in this end owing to its operating modelof cultural diplomacy. Furthermore, British Council, as an important quasi officialorganization, has been playing a unique and central role behind this success.Relations between the British council and China can be traced back to theAnti-Japanese War period. After the founding of new China, the British council set fouroffices on Chinese mainland. The British Council, by dint of its quasi official nature,vigorously carried out various culture activities such as art exhibitions, educationpromotion, English test, and achieved good results in these areas. The Beijing office ofBritish council is the largest of its counters in China. It has many edges including uniqueway of staff management which deserves many foreign agencies’learning in their effortsto promote Chinese culture. Although the British Council is faced with a lot of problemsand challenges in its development, but in80, it will be more independent and commercialin its operation in the future, according to its development course and merits. China, asone of its most important partners will still be a destination for the British council to carryout key activities, and cooperative projects with China will be more extensive andcomprehensive.