As the youngest Briton in China towards the end of the Cultural Revolution, Hugo de Burgh was called to meet the real ruler of the country, Zhou Enlai. It was the start of a lifetime interest in China, as you can see from his China Friend or Foe? (Icon 2006).

Professor of Journalism and director, China Media Centre, at the University of Westminster, he has recently spent 3 months at Tsinghua University (‘China’s Cambridge’) as Special Professor in Investigative Journalism. He took a party of young students to Tibet, visited nature reserves and explored Chinese Turkestan.

Hugo de Burgh has written and presented documentaries and features on many subjects, from the environment to the Second World War to film history; he has also presented his interview series Communicators on ITV. His most internationally popular books are Investigative Journalism (2nd edition due out 2008) and Making Journalists (2005).

In November 2007 his China Impact, published by McKinsey Consulting, was launched in London (in the House of Commons) and in China. Later this year he will launch a blog (prelude to a book) England 2020. It looks forward to our future in an age of increasing Chinese wealth and might.