Roundtable with New Zealand Ambassador to the PRC – Clare Fearnley
The New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre was pleased to host Clare Fearnley, New Zealand Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, during her return visit to Wellington for a roundtable discussion with academics. The conversation was wide ranging across New Zealand’s political and economic relationship with China, China in 2020 and New Zealand and China’s place in the region.
Clare Fearnley took up the role of New Zealand Ambassador to China in early May 2018 and is cross-accredited to Mongolia.
Clare was Ambassador in Seoul (2015-2017), cross-accredited to Pyongyang, Consul-General in Shanghai (1998-2002), and head of the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei (2004-2007). Clare was Director-General for North Asia and before that Director-General for Asia-Pacific Regional work. She has served as APEC and ASEAN Senior Official, as well as acting as Principal Legal Adviser and as Head of the Trade Law Unit, where she led international trade litigation, including cases in the WTO. Earlier in her career, her MFAT roles included Deputy Director-General of Trade Negotiations. Clare has arts and law degrees from Canterbury University (NZ). She is a Mandarin speaker and studied at Beijing University and at the Beijing Languages Institute in the 1980s.