Welcome to

Chopsticks Club

Our
Story

About

Welcome to our Club.

We are the largest, independent China-UK professionals’ membership network.

We are a unique and trusted platform for business, educational and cultural services.

Our Goals:

To be the leading, independent professionals’ membership network providing the best interface between the UK and China.

To increase understanding and enable open dialogue between Chinese and British people at all levels, including government and business.

To support businesses and individuals to achieve their aims through business services that add value such as cross-cultural skills training, recruitment services, networking events, Mandarin tuition and translation services.

To create and promote business opportunities through our genuine community.

Who We Are

A team with a combined total of 100 years of China/UK experience

Theresa Booth

Theresa first travelled to China in 1983, returning in 1985 and 1988 before living there permanently between 1992-97; first in Hubei province, where she taught English and French and from 1994-97 in Beijing where she set up her own business. She has a legal background, having trained and practised as a corporate finance lawyer in London and Hong Kong. In 1994 she set up the first sandwich business in Beijing. This gave her a grass roots insight into how business is done in China and how to make a profit.

She is a founding and operating Director & Trustee of Engage with China (www.engagewithchina,org), building China literacy in UK schools and a former Trustee of the Mulan Foundation Trust, recognising the achievements of Chinese women in the UK.

HJ Colston

A mandarin speaker and fascinated by China since her first visit there in 1985, H-J has been at the forefront of the China-UK space for over 20 years and is committed to the building of bi-lateral relations. H-J spent 4 ½ years in China first studying at Renmin Daxue 人民大学 and then working for the global household brand, Chubb, at the start of China's meteoric rise in the mid-1990s.

As the only female ‘foreigner’ working on the mainland in one of the firm’s joint ventures, she experienced at first-hand different workings styles and the importance of cultural understanding. She is an excellent communicator and effectively uses her China knowledge to devise and deliver specialist cross-cultural training. She has recently designed and delivered an undergraduate International China Business course for Pearson College in London.

She enjoys working with Chinese and UK organisations to build confidence, profile and business opportunities in the UK-China space. She is also a founding and operating Director and Trustee of Engage with China (www.engagewithchina.org), building China literacy in UK schools.

Chopsticks Champions

Our Club Ambassadoers

Author

Barnaby Powell

Barnaby is a Chinese son-in-law and has been involved with China for several decades. Co-author with Alex Mackinnon of three excellent books entitled China Calling, China Counting and ebook 2018 – China goes Critical, his narrative aids the China-focused professional in understanding the nature of Chinese society and doing business there in the new century. Barnaby is a veteran of development banking in East and Southeast Asia. He was a founding Secretariat Director of the Asia-Invest Programme for the European Commission and has over 35 years’ experience of Asian negotiations. He also served as Secretary-General of the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. A staunch Chopsticks Club Member, author and speaker to schools, universities and business organisations on China.

Founder & Chairman, Hurun Report

Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf, Founder and Chairman of Hurun Report and renowned in China as 'godfather' of the China Rich List, is an entrepreneur and long-term Shanghai resident. Rupert studied Mandarin and Business studies and founded China Tuesdays, the forerunner to the Chopsticks Club in 1993. Through his work Rupert is on the pulse of the changing trends of the elite class of Chinese billionaires and millionaires and tracks their trends, aspirations and tastes in luxury brands ranging from watches to cars to overseas travel and education.

CEO, Active-UK China

Yintong Betser

Yintong Betser, originally from Beijing and based in London since 1993, has had a diverse career across various industries. She founded ACTIVE Anglo Chinese Communications in 2000, a PR and marketing consultancy bridging business between China and the UK. In recent years, her main focus has been the Global SinoPhoto Awards, co-founded in 2020, which showcases Chinese culture through imagery and promotes photographers worldwide.

Yintong has written a column for London Business Matters for over a decade and authored several business guidebooks in both English and Chinese.

A respected figure in the Anglo-Chinese community, she received the Unsung Heroine award from the Mulan Foundation Network for her contributions to society.