Salmond bids to boost China links

Beijing will be the focus of the Scottish delegation's trip

First Minister Alex Salmond is to visit China in a bid to exploit its "massive" potential for Scotland.

The week-long visit by Mr Salmond and Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop will get under way on Monday in Hong Kong.

The visit will also take them to Shanghai on Tuesday and Beijing for the remainder of the week.

The trip follows a visit to China last month by the Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy and coincides with the Scotland Week events in the United States.

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said the invitation to the first minister had been made some time ago by the Chinese Government and argued that the two visits complemented each other.

He also said Mr Salmond met Amnesty International and the Scottish Human Rights Commission ahead of the trip to discuss human rights concerns in China, and how these could best be expressed.

'Significant benefits'

Mr Salmond said: "I was delighted to accept the invitation of the Chinese Government to visit China and undertake a programme which will help build on the positive relationship between our two countries in areas like business, education and culture.

"Our China plan, developed by the previous administration and updated and expanded last year, is yielding significant benefits to Scotland as we strengthen our long-standing relationships with government, businesses and educational institutions in China."

The China visit is intended to build on existing links in areas like education, and exploit new opportunities in areas such as renewable energy, golf tourism, life sciences, and computer gaming.

Mr Salmond said there was "massive" potential for Scottish companies, universities and colleges to get involved in China.

During the visit Mr Salmond and Ms Hyslop will also seek to facilitate meetings between the Chinese Government and officials from bodies like the Scotch Whisky Association and Scottish Enterprise.

It will be the tenth Scottish ministerial visit to China since 2004, and follows a trip last year in which Ms Hyslop signed a deal with the Chinese education ministry.