Chamber and committees

The Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation undertook a successful visit to China (Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou) between 1-5 July 2019, to strengthen the growing business, cultural and governmental links between Scotland and the world’s second-largest economy.

The Minister had a constructive meeting with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Huang Wei). This represented the development of a new relationship with a Chinese Ministry which can assist in the establishment and continuation of strong collaborations between Scottish and Chinese universities, research institutions and with Scotland’s Innovation Centres and Chinese High Tech zones. The Ministers discussed existing connections, such as the long standing links between the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Chinese Academy of Science, the Royal Botanic Garden and Yunnan Province and the collaboration between the James Hutton Institute and Xisen Potato, the largest seed potato company in China. Potential for future growth through collaborations on shared challenges, such as climate change and healthy ageing, was also covered.

At an event at the Low Carbon College in Shanghai, the Minister delivered a keynote address on the importance of tackling the Global Climate Emergency in a way which delivers a just transition to renewable energy and decarbonisation. The event also provided an opportunity to promote Scotland’s expertise in emerging energy technologies, and to explore new academic and business collaborations between Scotland and China.

The Minister discussed Scotland’s positive approach to human rights at a number of events, including a round table with the Social Enterprise Academy in Beijing (launched by the First Minister in her 2018 visit). At that event, he met representatives of social enterprises working in the fields of environmental education, increasing employability for disabled people, and linking Chinese philanthropy to worthy causes. The Minister also discussed children’s rights, work to tackle child poverty and the importance of inclusive economic growth with government representatives, including the Vice Mayor of Shanghai and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The Minister raised the Scottish Government’s concerns around the situation in Hong Kong with the Vice Mayor of Shanghai.

The Minister undertook a series of business meetings and events to encourage more trade and investment between Scotland and China. Direct support for over ten Scottish or Scotland based businesses was provided through the visit programme. He met with Scottish companies Peak Scientific and Weir, who are both successfully operating in China and willing to share their experiences with Scottish companies keen to enter the Chinese market. A meeting was also held with Petrochina which is looking to make further investment in Scotland.

The Minister visited Ctrip, which invested £1.4bn into Skyscanner in 2016 and has recently increased the number of staff in its contact centre in Edinburgh, the first outside of China. Ctrip have plans for further and continued staff expansion in the years ahead. He met with the CEO, Jane Sun, and discussed Ctrip’s ambitions for the future and plans for its presence in Scotland.

The Minister facilitated a round table discussion on Inward Investment into Scotland, attended by Scottish and Chinese companies, and met with Chinese companies investing in Scotland’s manufacturing sector, and Scottish companies supplying to the Chinese market.

He witnessed the signing of an agreement between East Lothian-based Sunamp and its Chinese Partner, Gomon Renewable Energy Development Co. to move forward on the manufacturing and sale of a heat-pump water heater targeted at the Chinese residential market.

Over 200 people attended two Scotland Is Now promotional events hosted by the Minister, in Beijing and Shanghai respectively and a dedicated Food and Drink Showcase with a select group of influential Chinese distributors, importers and retailers in Beijing. These events showcased Scotland as a place for Chinese people to visit, work, study and invest in, and encouraged and forged good relationships with key people from the Chinese business, culture, tourism and education sectors, as well as promoting Scottish businesses in food and drink industry.

Cultural ties and people-to-people links were also strengthened during the visit. In Beijing, the Minister launched Scotland’s 2020 Year of Coasts and Waters , which resulted in thousands of social media impressions and encouraged Chinese tourists to visit Scotland. In a meeting with the Vice Mayor of Shanghai, the Minister discussed the ongoing cultural collaborations between the Shanghai and Edinburgh Festivals, and the plans for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to visit China in 2020. He also delivered a letter in support of the Tattoo’s work from the First Minster to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Throughout the visit, the Minister stressed the importance of maintaining strong, direct travel links between Scotland and China.

In Hangzhou, the Minister met with the Mayor of Hangzhou City and the Head of Gongshu District, and discussed the area’s distinctive offer for overseas companies looking to access the Chinese market. He put forward proposals for collaboration between Scottish universities and start-up businesses, and provided an overview of the strong offer Scotland makes in the research, innovation and technology sectors and our willingness to collaborate with Chinese businesses.

Finally, the Minister attended the opening ceremony for Scottish technology company Modo’s new Asia HQ in the city of Hangzhou - one of China’s high tech industrial zones. He met with the CEO, to discuss development of its Scottish, Chinese and global operations, and ways to develop stronger collaboration in innovation and technology and the possibility of further academic and business partnerships between Scotland and Hangzhou.

Following the Minister’s engagements in China, and building on the First Minster’s visit last year, there are many opportunities to strengthen the connections between Scotland and China including on trade, investment, culture, the low carbon economy, tourism and food and drink. The Minister’s programme of activity in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou served to both strengthen existing relationships and open many new opportunities.

There were 928 schools built or refurbished between 2007-08 and 2018-19 in Scotland, 21 of which were in East Ayrshire.

Since 2007, the Scottish Government and local authorities have collectively invested around £4 billion improving Scotland's school estate.

Through the Schools for the Future programme, Scottish Government and East Ayrshire Council have invested £143 million in six school projects.

Details of how much the Scottish Government has invested in transport infrastructure in the south west of Scotland in the last decade are shown in the following table. This excludes the amount invested in maintaining and renewing the railway in this area, as it is not possible to allocate the proportion of the several hundred million that we provide to Network Rail each year to undertake this on our behalf for the whole Scotland route.

We continue to invest in opportunities across East Ayrshire to promote low carbon travel opportunities. Including:

• Investment totalling over £1.3m in East Ayrshire to support the installation of workplace, domestic and public EV charging infrastructure and public sector fleet decarbonisation.
•  £264,000 towards walking and cycling infrastructure projects in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley via the Community Links programme. In addition we have provided funding to promote cycling, walking and safer streets and cycle training in schools.
• Between 2013-16 provided £140,000 in funding towards bus infrastructure to encourage more people to use buses.