Question follow-through · 40312
China: Diplomatic Service
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.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
- Tabled
- 21 Mar 2025
- Target answer date
- 25 Mar 2025
- Answer
- 28 Mar 2025 · 7 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
Recorded timeline
21 Mar 2025
Question tabled
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.
25 Mar 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
28 Mar 2025
Answer published
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 f...
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
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