17th February 2021, London – The Great Britain China Centre is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rt Hon Sir David Lidington KCB CBE, former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as honorary Vice President.
GBCC Chair Sir Martin Davidson said, “I am delighted that Sir David has agreed to become Vice President of GBCC. His expertise and connections both in China and the UK will greatly contribute to GBCC’s mission to promote political dialogue and legal exchanges between our two countries. Having participated in several Senior Leadership Forums and led the UK delegation in 2018, Sir David is perfectly placed to support politician-to-politician links with China.”
Sir David said, “As Chinese economic and political influence in the world grows, it is more important than ever that political, business and public service leaders in the United Kingdom have an informed and clear-eyed understanding of how China sees its history, interests and ambitions. I am pleased to be involved in the GBCC’s work to improve the capability of the British system to manage UK-China relations and to foster candid dialogues between leaders in our two countries both on issues where we can work together and on those where we have profound differences.”
Biography of Sir David Lidington
Sir David was elected a Member of Parliament for Aylesbury in 1992, serving until his retirement at the 2019 general election. During his tenure, Sir David served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2003-2007), Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (2007-2010), the UK’s longest-serving Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (2010-2016), Leader of House of Commons and Lord President of the Council (2016-2017), Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (2017-2018) before becoming Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2018-2019). Sir David was the de-facto Deputy Prime Minister under Theresa May.
Educated at Cambridge, Sir David worked for BP and Rio Tinto before spending three years as a Special Adviser in the Home and Foreign Offices. Sir David is on the Board of the Institute for Government and in 2020 was appointed Chair of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
About GBCC
GBCC is a non-departmental public body supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, governed by a Board of Directors under the Chair.
(For further details please contact Merethe Board MacLeod, Executive Director merethe.borgemacleod@gbcc.org.uk)