Dr Catherine Hua Xiang

Catherine is East Asian Languages Coordinator and Programme Director of the BSc International Relations and Chinese and UK Director of LSE Confucius Institute for Business London. She is also the Founder of the International Research Hub on Intercultural Communication, Business and AI, an interdisciplinary initiative launching in 2026, and the Founding Editor of its bilingual research briefing publication, The Intercultural Edge.

A specialist in intercultural communication, Chinese pragmatics, and China–UK business & diplomatic relations, Catherine leads Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean language provision at LSE and develops programmes integrating language, culture and global business & diplomatic communication. She teaches LN115 Intercultural Communication and Management and LN140 Advanced Mandarin Language and Society, and leads a student open educational video project titled Current Affairs in Mandarin.

She is the award-winning author of Bridging the Gap – An Introduction to Intercultural Communication with China, which won the Specialist Business Book of the Year 2025, and the author of Mastering Chinese, a core textbook widely adopted for beginner-level Mandarin teaching in the UK and internationally. She is the creator of the Navigating China series, with forthcoming titles Harmony in Differences: Understanding Politeness from a Chinese Perspective (Feb 2026) and Verses of Wisdom: Modern Business Lessons from Classical Chinese Poetry (Nov 2026).

Expertise

• Intercultural communication and global competence (China–UK and beyond)
• Pragmatics, politeness strategies and speech acts
• Mandarin language pedagogy and curriculum development
• Cultural intelligence and leadership across cultures
• Application of classical Chinese philosophy and poetry in contemporary business
• AI-mediated communication and the future of global workplaces
• Language, identity and power in organisational and diplomatic settings

Catherine's work brings together applied linguistics, cultural intelligence, classical Chinese thought, and leadership practice. She regularly advises multinational organisations, government bodies, and educational institutions on China strategy, cross-cultural communication and global leadership development.

• Specialist Business Book of the Year 2025 (Bridging the Gap)
• Three-time recipient of the LSE Excellence in Education Award
• LSE Innovator Award
• Multiple LSE Students’ Union Teaching Awards for student support, inspiring teaching and innovative pedagogy
• Recognised for leadership in cross-cultural education and enterprise collaboration