Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of British diplomats posted to China have language proficiency in Chinese at CEFR level C1 or higher.

As of March 2025, 64 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff have achieved qualifications in Mandarin at C1 or C2 level (in the Common European Framework Reference scale) over the past five years. FCDO language qualifications are valid for 5 years.