At the invitation of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Beijing and Shanghai from July 26 to 30. The delegation met with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, Minister Luo Shugang of Ministry of Culture, Vice President Song Jingwu of CPAFFC and leaders of Petro-China, Sinopec and CNOOC. First Minister Sturgeon delivered a speech on “Female Competitiveness and Gender Equality” at CPAFFC.
First Minister Sturgeon brought 23 Scottish companies to China who signed over 10 cooperation agreements with their Chinese partners in Beijing. Shanghai and Jiaxing, covering various fields such as digital technique, low-carbon economy, medical care and public health. In respect of people-to-people exchange, the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China and the Scottish Government on the Promotion of Cultural Collaboration and Exchange and Memorandum of Understanding for the Development of Cultural Cooperation Between China International Culture Association and the Edinburgh International Festival have been renewed . A number of Chinese and Scottish universities have signed MOUs respectively.
Scotland local government has been working closely with CPAFFC. Former First Minister Salmond had visited China four times at CPAFFC’s invitation. This is the first visit to China since Sturgeon assumed office. The visit has further promoted the exchange and cooperation in economy and trade, culture and education between China and Scotland.
