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Annex A: Scottish Public-Sector Engagement with China
The Executive, along with its agencies,non-departmental public bodies ( NDPBs) and other public-sector institutions in Scotland, is undertaking extensive activity in relation to China. This annex can only provide a brief overview: it is not an exhaustive list.
Scottish Executive
The Executive's general engagement with China is led within Scotland by the China Desk of the International Division and within China by the recently established Scotland Affairs Office located within the British Embassy in Beijing.
Business relations with China are the primary responsibility of Scottish Development International ( SDI), who have a network of staff in China, led by a country manager based in Beijing and by SDI's regional director for Asia, based in Shanghai. SDI have been particularly active in seeking to raise understanding about the opportunities and challenges posed to Scottish businesses by China and have organised a successful series of events - The China Challenge - in collaboration with the China Britain Business Council.
Scotland's educational links with China are flourishing. The Executive has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Ministry of Education signed in 2005, and the Chinese Education Minister, Zhou Ji, visited Scotland in October 2005. Many schools, colleges and universities in Scotland have developed extensive links with counterparts in China.
Chinese students make up our largest overseas student body in Scotland (4,089 in 2004/05 - ahead of the USA in second place). At the school level, the Executive has been keen to promote links through part-funding summer schools for pupils in China and through funding the placement of Chinese language assistants in Scottish schools in collaboration with the British Council.
At the further and higher education level, Scottish Ministers have funded projects to improve the experience of foreign students studying in Scotland. We have also funded scholarships to bring some of the brightest Chinese students to Scotland. We continue to contribute towards the marketing of Scottish education in China, working in particular with EducationUKScotland.
The Executive is also undertaking - through the Fresh Talent Initiative - activities that encourage Chinese talent to live, work and study in Scotland. This initiative is already being marketed at education fairs across China. We are also working to encourage some of the Chinese students who graduate from Scottish universities and colleges to gain work experience in Scotland following completion of their studies.
Other Public-Sector Institutions in Scotland
Numerous agencies, NDPBs and other public-sector institutions based in Scotland have developed links with Chinese counterparts, engaging in a wide range of activities.
On the scientific front, in addition to the expanding links between researchers in Scotland's universities and colleges, the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh ( RBGE) continues to spearhead UK-China collaborative research (see case study). The Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institutes ( SABRIs) and the Scottish Agricultural College, core funded by the Executive, have been sharing expertise with Chinese counterparts (for example, on the issue of soil erosion). The Life Sciences Intermediate Technology Institute, funded by Scottish Enterprise, visited China in 2005 to explore opportunities to commercialise pioneering Scottish research in this field.
The Executive-funded Intellectual Assets Centre, has been liaising with the Chinese authorities about the importance of effective management of intellectual assets in a knowledge economy.
The UKForestry Commission, headquartered in Edinburgh, has an Memorandum of Understanding to exchange expertise with the State Forestry Administration in China.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority ( SQA) has developed strong links with the Chinese Ministry of Education and is active across China, enabling thousands of Chinese students to study for and gain internationally recognised qualifications that are based on Scottish qualifications.
VisitScotland, working in partnership with VisitBritain, is active both in preparing the Scottish tourist industry to receive Chinese visitors and in promoting Scotland as a tourism destination in China.
On the cultural side, Sino-Scottish links continue to flourish. The Scottish Arts Council has supported Scottish artists to collaborate with Chinese artists and also supports projects for and by Scotland's ethnic Chinese community. Recent funded activities have included: an arts management placement programme for visiting arts managers from China; a project to compose and arrange a repertoire combining Scottish and Chinese music; a two-day conference at the Traverse Theatre on 'working with new plays from mainland China' (co-funded by the British Council); and a Sino-Scottish poetry exchange and residency programme.
Scotland's national companies and institutions are also becoming increasingly active in relation to China. For example, the National Museums of Scotland holds a first-class collection of nearly 6000 objects associated with China and has, in recent years, staged exhibitions of Chinese collections such as the internationally important Forbidden City: Treasures of an Emperor. In addition to exhibiting, the National Museums also undertake research and foster links with organisations and individuals in China.
Local Government links with China are expanding. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have twin cities in China (Dalian and Xi'an respectively) and other Scottish towns and regions are cultivating relations with counterparts in China. Perth and Kinross Council are developing links with Haikou in Hainan Province. Angus Council have pioneered links with Shandong, by twinning with Yantai County within Shandong Province. This has led to collaboration in the spheres of education, sport (golf) and culture as well as mutual business opportunities (see case study for further details).
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