Envoy Caroline Wilson’s article in Chinese was posted on the official WeChat account of the British embassy in Beijing last week, amid already tense relations between Britain and China on issues such as Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the media, reports The South China Morning Post.

In it, she sought to explain why foreign media criticism of the Chinese government did not mean the journalists responsible did not like China but were in fact acting in “good faith” and playing an active role in monitoring government action, reports the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Wilson said she 'stands' by her article.

"I stand by my article. No doubt the outgoing Chinese Ambassador to the UK stands by the 170+ pieces he was free to place in mainstream British media," she tweeted.