[Shanghai CG] UK's Matt Burney – 2 Decades of Change in China

Author's Note: Other media outlets tend to produce foreign consul and diplomat content that reads like a press release. Heavily scripted, diplomatically sterile, and structured around talking points about bilateral cooperation. The result is usually something nobody actually wants to read. You've seen the template: dignitary praises city, mentions mutual benefits, photo op, done.

We didn't want to replicate that template. We wanted to produce something that feels more like an actual conversation between two people who are genuinely interested in what they're talking about. We hope we accomplished this.

We are proud to start this series off with Matt Burney, who more than anything, gave us time to have a conversation. The result: the privilege of talking to a diplomat who feels like a neighbor. Someone who eats noodles in jogging bottoms, has seen cities transform, can't cook, and taught himself Grade 8 piano to stay sane. He also happens to manage one of the largest British diplomatic missions in the world.

Some Background Context

Shanghai is home to over 77 foreign consulates. For several of the countries represented here, their Shanghai mission is the largest diplomatic post they have anywhere in the world, bigger than their embassies. That is a fact worth sitting with for a moment. It says something about what this city actually is, as opposed to what it is sometimes assumed to be.

First, what exactly is a consul general? The short answer: the most senior official at a country's consulate general, which is to say the person whose business card wins the room. They are official representatives of their home government, tasked with overseeing consular affairs, visa services and trade activity across a given city or region. In Shanghai, that mandate tends to stretch well beyond the city limits, with many consuls general effectively holding court over the entire Yangtze River Delta.

This series is a conversation with the people who hold that title. Career diplomats tend to have seen a lot of the world by the time they arrive somewhere. We wanted to know what they make of this particular place in it, how it compares to the postings that came before, and what the work of representing a country actually looks like from inside an office tower in Puxi.

Starting us off in this series is the United Kingdom, and British Consul General in Shanghai, Matt Burney.

City News Service: Thank you so much for welcoming us today! Give us a quick introduction would you?

Matt Burney: My name is Matt Burney, and I am the Consul General of the British Consulate in Shanghai. I am responsible for our cultural, education and people-to-people links between China and the UK here in Shanghai.

CNS: And... so how did you end up in Shanghai? Tell us about how that process works.

Matt Burney: Well, it's really funny when you're a diplomat, you don't necessarily have control over where you go. All roles that we apply for are appointed through a competitive process, which involves interviews, applications, psychometric testing, and psychological testing in some cases. So it's all about timing.

If the job that you're interested in comes up because you're interested in the work of the embassy or the consulate in a particular country or city, then you're very lucky. Our postings typically are three or four years long, and you can't really jump from short tour to short tour or leave your post early. During your posting, there are lots of attractive jobs that come up, so it's really about timing and, in many ways, luck.

The reason I came to Shanghai this time was that when I was in Beijing, the role of consul general came up in Shanghai. Fortuitously, the timing worked out. I applied for it and got it. That meant I could leave Beijing as planned and start at about the same time that they needed a new consul general in Shanghai.

That's how it happened. But I put in the application for this job because I've always really enjoyed Shanghai and the East China region. I like the fact that I work very closely with businesses. It's a commercial center. I like the fact that there's a lot of people-to-people exchange in culture and in education. So, Shanghai is a very diverse place to work in.

It's also obviously very critical to the wider bilateral relationship, given the fact that there are around about 1,500 UK companies headquartered here in Shanghai. China is the UK's third largest trading partner, so this is a really important post to be occupying. I enjoy it for that reason.

CNS: When and what was your first posting in China? It was back in 2000, is that right?

Matt Burney: Yes, the year 2000! Chongqing. The British government at that time had decided that we would open a consulate there. In fact, actually last year was the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Chongqing consulate.

When we opened, there were just three diplomats, myself and two others. There was the Consul General at the time, and two vice consuls, and I was one of the vice consuls. We opened the British Consulate and the British Council, which operates as an arm of the consulate, in 2000.

That was in response, in many ways, to China's development of the Go West policy, the strategy to bring Chongqing and the southwest part of China to the same economic levels as the eastern and southern coastal cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou.

So the UK government made the decision to open a consulate in the year 2000. We started as a very small consulate, and now it's a very large one.

Chongqing in 2000 and China's Transformation

CNS: What was Chongqing like 25 years ago?

Matt Burney: It's… uhh… well… it was very different from how it is now, extremely different. Chongqing became a municipality directly under Beijing in 1997 and as part of the Go West strategy, Beijing started to pump Chongqing with incredible levels of investment.

When we were there in 2000, in some ways it felt like a building site the size of a country, because so much investment was going into developing new infrastructure. Bridges were coming down, bridges were going up. Roads were coming down, roads were being built. It was modernizing at a rapid pace.

To be honest, it wasn't always that comfortable living in that environment at the time, but it was really important that we were there. I think it was really good for UK interests that we were there and that we had a reasonably sized presence in Chongqing at the time.

It wasn't a particularly international city then. It's verrry different now however. When I was in Chongqing, there were no coffee shops. You couldn't get pasta. There was no accommodation for diplomats. All three of us, while I was there, had to live in hotels. The infrastructure simply wasn't what it is now.

If you go to Chongqing today, it's become a real tourist hotspot, because so much has been invested in tourist sites and in beautifying the city. It's really very attractive now, a complete transformation over 25 years. But at the time, I would say it was definitely a city in transition back then.

First Impressions of Shanghai, 2011

CNS: Your first time in Shanghai was 2011, right? So you already had experience in China, 25 years ago in Chongqing at the very beginning of its transformation, and then another posting came up in Shanghai in 2011. What were your expectations of Shanghai before coming here for the first time?

Matt Burney: Well… I had visited Shanghai when I was living in Chongqing. I used to come and visit friends who were working in diplomatic posts here, because things were more developed in Shanghai.

I remember being excited to come to Shanghai and have something other than hotpot, which was basically the only thing available in Chongqing at that time. Sichuan food and hotpot. So it was always really exciting to come to Shanghai and remember what cheese tasted like. (Laughs.)

I already had expectations of living and working in Shanghai, based on that initial experience. Around Shanghai's internationalism, its openness, and the fact that it catered to a range of diverse tastes, not just local Chinese tastes but also international ones. When I was in Chongqing, that was missing because there wasn't a market for it at the time. We were pioneers in many ways, opening a consulate there.

Nowadays, tastes have changed and there are more foreigners in Chongqing, so markets have developed to cater to customer needs. Shanghai, though, has always been very international. That's why I used to get excited to come here, and also why I was very excited to have a proper posting here from 2011 to 2015.

Now... right before I arrived, Shanghai had just hosted the World Expo in 2010. Last year was the 15th anniversary, and I'm hoping we can do something to mark it, because the UK Pavilion, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, won the gold architecture award.

So Shanghai was very much in the news in 2010 because of the World Expo. That sense of Shanghai being a very international city grew as a result of the media attention that the expo garnered.

I came very excited, because I knew I'd be working in a city that was placing a lot of emphasis on becoming more livable, greener and more prosperous environment. I really looked forward to being part of those conversations as a diplomat during that period from 2011 to 2015.

The UK Pavilion and the Legacy of Expo 2010

CNS: Side note. This last weekend I was at the Expo Park. I don't know if you've been there yet, but they've opened up the final phases of that whole area. It's astounding what they've done. They've kept a few of the buildings. I think the French Pavilion, Italian, Russian and Luxembourg ones are still there. What happened to the UK pavilion? It was such an iconic structure, with the rods swaying in the wind.

Matt Burney: Oh yes, I've been to the Expo Park many times. We always agreed at the time that with the expo organizers that the UK Pavilion would have a zero carbon footprint. So, we knew from the outset that there would be nothing left of it, and we had intended on it being dismantled after.

CNS: Well that answers probably a question a number of folks have had.

Matt Burney: Actually, I'll show you something now while we're talking about it. Come with me.

CNS: Well, off we go then!

Matt Burney: This is from the UK Pavilion, one of the seed rods. Did you ever go to it?

CNS: Oh yes, I did. Incredible pavilion.

Matt Burney: I never actually saw it because I arrived in 2011, but this is one of the seed rods. The nickname was the Dandelion, because apparently it moved in the wind. It was made of all these Perspex rods, each containing a seed, which is why we called them seed rods.

These seeds came from Yunnan, because there is a collaboration between the Yunnan Botanical Gardens and Kew Gardens in London. It's very difficult to transport live plant material from one country to another, so instead of transporting seeds from Kew, we worked on a project with the botanical gardens in Yunnan.

Thomas' idea was that these seeds would represent the blossoming of the bilateral relationship. When we took the pavilion down, instead of disposing of the rods, we auctioned some of them for charity, and it raised quite a significant amount of money.

For a number of years, we also mounted them on plinths and gave them to contacts. This is the only one we have left, so I'm afraid I can't give it to you.

City News Service: No, no, of course! The architect, he got his big start in Shanghai, is that right?

Mattt Burney: Yes. I actually met Thomas Heatherwick a couple of times. He was at our King's Birthday Party in June 2024. He has a practice in Shanghai now, actually, and designed the 1000 Trees project. He's very positive about Shanghai, because the World Expo really propelled him into super stardom within architecture and design.

City News Service: I remember back then his name came up a lot. I was quite young, but my perception was that the UK was already bringing in a superstar designer. At least in Chinese media, he was mentioned a lot.

Matt Burney: He actually wasn't that well-known globally at the time, but he became very well-known as a result of that pavilion. At one point, the BBC was showing the UK Pavilion in all of its news bulletins. There was research suggesting that at one point it was the most widely recognized piece of architecture in the world.

Thomas is very positive about Shanghai because he sees it as a springboard for his international reputation. Since then, he's had commissions all over the world, including in China.

So I'm constantly reminded of his influence on Shanghai's landscape. I live right opposite one of his buildings, the Fosun Art Center, and I absolutely love 1000 Trees. I know some people don't, but I think it's a beautiful piece of architecture in China.

Shanghai's Urban Development & Suzhou Creek's Transformation

CNS: I saw the groundbreaking for the 1000 Trees project because I lived in the compound just across the street. I saw it go from zero to completion.

Matt Burney: How is the place getting on now?

CNS: A hotel is planned to be opened there in the third phase. It's nearing completion, but the mall itself is beautiful, especially from the outside. They also have some excellent dining there. One of Shanghai's Michelin starred restaurants is up at the top, called Narisawa.

Matt Burney: Is it good?

CNS: It's fantastic, and it's hidden behind a secret door. Completely open kitchen. The menu is an artform.

Matt Burney: That area really has upgraded. When the weather is good, that walk from 1000 Trees along the Suzhou Creek is really something. That area has changed massively. During my first Shanghai posting, I lived on Wuning Road near the Suzhou Creek, just as the redevelopment was starting. Now, that area has become an exemplar of Shanghai's urban redevelopment, there has been so much investment in creating a much nicer environment.

On a good day, it's a beautiful walk. From where the old Carrefour* used to be down to 1000 Trees, I'd really recommend your readers to take that walk. The way the area has been repurposed and redeveloped is stunning. When you walk toward 1000 Trees, it almost feels like a temple emerging. It's really lovely. I just wish we had more nice weather days.

My favorite times in Shanghai are autumn and spring, when it's glorious, although spring sometimes turns back into winter. You just have to let Shanghai weather decide what it's going to do.

*Copy Editor's Note: The typical starting point that Matt is referring to is at Guangfu Road W. and Guanxin Road. Walk down to the river, turn right and follow the Suzhou Creek east until you come to 1000 Trees.

A Day in the Life of Matt Burney

CNS: So Matt.. tell us, what does a typical day in the life of the British Consul General look like?

Matt Burney: There isn't a typical one! I thought you might ask that, so I brought my calendar here to give you an example of my itinerary.

Looking at the week beginning my week, we had consular and crisis management teams from London in Shanghai. We spent quite a bit of time training and running scenarios for major crises, in the very unlikely event that British nationals here are affected by incidents such as natural disasters. We practiced responding to distressed nationals and dealing with media in those situations.

I also met several new consuls general who had just arrived in Shanghai for courtesy calls. I hosted a healthcare and life sciences reception at my residence for about 30 people working in a very important sector where the UK and China have a lot to share and learn from, and where there are opportunities to grow business and improve health outcomes.

What else now... oh yes, then I attended a reception at the J Hotel in Shanghai Tower, which is possibly the highest hotel or at least the highest restaurant in the world. It was on the 110th floor. We hosted a City Club reception for people working in financial services in Shanghai and the wider region, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui. The Ambassador came down from Beijing to attend.

The following day, we went to Suzhou for a major public event encouraging more women to enter STEM fields science: technology, engineering and maths. We had several world-leading female scientists from the UK who have done groundbreaking work improving millions of lives. It was inspiring to hear their stories and the challenges women face in male-dominated sectors.

After that, we visited Suzhou Museum, which has a partnership with the British Museum in London. They are hosting an exhibition, which is free of charge, which is brilliant, from the British Museum as part of a five-year partnership. This is the fourth major exhibition, with the fifth planned for next year.

Then.. what else did we do… oh yes! I also spoke on Friday at the British Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting, giving an overview of the bilateral relationship from government-to-government, business-to-business, and people-to-people perspectives.

I then briefed a group of young UK civil servants visiting China as part of a familiarization program aimed at improving China capability across Whitehall. We strongly believe that understanding China is essential to working effectively with China. So, we have across Whitehall, a familiarization program which every year brings young civil servants from different departments and different ministries to come over to China to understand the picture of our work of what it means to be a civil servant or diplomat working in China.

That evening, I hosted another reception at my residence for leaders in science and innovation, including the women scientists who spoke at the Suzhou forum.

Over the weekend, I attended the John Moores Painting Prize China ceremony. John Moores was from Liverpool, and 2024 marked the 25th anniversary of civic ties between Liverpool and Shanghai. The John Moores Painting Prize has existed in the UK for many years, and 15 years ago a China edition was established, held every two years. I went to the ceremony which was announcing the prize winners.

This year was its eighth edition. They received about 4,000 entries from across China, shortlisted around 100, and those works were on display at the Power Station of Art on the (South) Bund for a time. The quality of work was extraordinary and really highlighted the depth of talent in Chinese contemporary art.

Now, that was just one week. Each week looks vastly different from the last.

CNS: And what pray tell, does Matt Burney enjoy doing in his spare time?

Matt: Honestly, I don't get a lot of spare time. We have around 110 to 120 staff at any given time, and there's a lot happening between the UK and China right now in a very good way. There have been many high-level ministerial visits, including the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and most recently our Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. There's a lot of activity with the current British government regarding engagements with China.

In Shanghai alone, we cover Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui as well. There's a lot happening in education, culture and people-to-people relations. It's a very busy post, with both internal office work and extensive external representation. So, there isn't a lot of down time.

That said, during a summer holiday in 2024 to escape the Shanghainese heat, in the UK, I spent time in the Cotswolds and realized I needed a small long-term personal project for balance... just very slightly. My original background is in music, so I decided to teach myself the full syllabus of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music highest grade piano exam.

From summer until the New Year, whenever I had a few minutes here or there, free time or perhaps an occasional free weekend, I practiced. Occasionally I'd have a full weekend off, more often just one day. I'm happy to say I passed the exam before the New Year. The ABRSM, by the way, has a significant presence in Shanghai.

This year's project is to learn a new musical instrument. Possibly the French horn, although I'm not sure the neighbors would approve. It's still to be confirmed, but I need to get started because time passes very quickly in this job.

CNS: Very busy man, but busy people still need to eat. Where are your favorite places to eat in Shanghai?

Matt: Very often I'm at official dinners where I'm not even sure who is actually cooking for me. I don't get to restaurants that often in my personal life. A lot of dining happens in companies, boardrooms and official settings.

If I do get time off, I actually prefer very simple, hole-in-the-wall places. I wine and dine quite a lot for work, and the food and service are always excellent. But, you know… when I have personal time, I like going somewhere I wouldn't normally go for work, wearing jogging bottoms, not wearing a suit, possibly not shaving, and just having a simple bowl of noodles. And these places that I go to, I never know the names of them.

CNS: Do you have a favorite type of Chinese cuisine? And can you handle spice?

Matt: Spice? Oh yes I can handle spice. Given that I lived in Chongqing for three years, where spicy food was the only thing available. So to be honest, I don't gravitate toward Sichuan or Chongqing food anymore, because I had that experience for three solid years.

But if I have a free weekend, I really do love to go out for a bit of Cantonese dim sum. I like Mongolian food as well.

CNS: That's actually the first time I've heard Mongolian food mentioned in Shanghai.

Matt: I don't eat meat you see, so I have to be careful because Mongolian food is usually very meat-heavy. But they do have some really good non-meat dishes as well.

And you know, I eat out so much for work that when I have free time, I sometimes just prefer eating at home with my partner or just cooking something very simple, maybe a bowl of pasta. I don't cook, I'm absolutely useless in this regard, not one iota of talent in the kitchen, but my partner does thankfully. (Laughs.)

1,500 British Companies and Counting

CNS: One thing you mentioned earlier was that Shanghai is home to around 1,500 British companies. Most of them seem to be in education, financial services and professional services. Are there other industries as well?

Matt: British healthcare and pharmaceuticals are huge in Shanghai. Consumer brands are massive. There are many UK consumer brands here. British companies span the full range of industries.

You're right that there are a lot of education organizations, including schools. But companies like GSK and AstraZeneca are very active here. Automotive as well is significant.

CNS: On the innovation side, are you keeping track of British start-ups in the city? What kinds of things are they doing?

Matt: Oh yes, we have a number. We even have dedicated staff here at the consulate that specifically look at technology and innovation. What we see among British start-ups in Shanghai, they're working across a wide range of sectors, but particularly focused on green energy, as well as in creative industries, gaming, digital and related fields. We have quite a lot of young entrepreneurs entering the market here. I'd like to do more to encourage UK start-ups to engage with partners in Shanghai, because there's a real opportunity to expand that collaboration.

What Makes Shanghai, Shanghai

CNS: Last question Matt! Since you've served in Chongqing, Beijing and Shanghai, what would you say are the most unique qualities of Shanghai? Aside from internationalism, how would you describe the city to someone coming for the first time?

Matt: Shanghai has this feeling of being very open. It feels very innovative. It feels like things are happening here. There's something about this city that gives it a sense of potential and opportunity. At the same time, as I was advised early on, Shanghai is just one part of China, there is still so much more to this country than this marvelous city alone.