Ｓｃｏｔｌａｎｄ’ｓ Ｆｉｒｓｔ Ｍｉｎｉｓｔｅｒ Ａｌｅｘ Ｓａｌｍｏｎｄ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Hosted by the CPAFFC， Alex Salmond， first minister of Scotland， visited Beijing and Shanghai from April 7 to 12. Lu Yongxiang， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li Hui， vice foreign minister; Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC; Wang Yong， director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ); and Tu Guangshao， vice mayor of Shanghai met with Alex Salmond and his entourage. President Chen Haosu attended and spoke at the reception given by the first minister.

Consolidating Sino-British Relations and Promoting Cooperation in Various Fields

On the evening of April 10， Vice Foreign Minister Li Hui met with and entertained First Minister Salmond and his party. British Ambassador to China Sir William Ehrman was present. Li extended warm welcome to the first minister of Scotland and thanked him for sending letters of condolence over the train collision in Shandong and the Wenchuan earthquake， and his support for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. At the meeting， Li Hui spoke highly of the first minister’s efforts， since he took office in 2007， to encourage the Scottish Government to formulate the document Scotland’s Strategy for Stronger Engagement with China which shows Scotland’s sincerity to forge friendship with China and the importance it attaches to developing strategic and cooperative relations with it. Li Hui said， the Chinese side is pleased to see that under the care of the first minister， the Confucius Institute in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh has been elected one of the top ten Confucius Institutes in the world. “China Now in Scotland”， a festival with a series of cultural events was held successfully in Scotland and very popular. Li Hui also mentioned the advantages Scotland has in information technology， life science， renewable energy and financial services， and the great potential for bilateral cooperation. He extended welcome to the first minister to visit China again next year to get a more comprehensive knowledge of China， especially its market and hoped that China and Scotland would expand and deepen cooperation in economy and trade， science and technology， energy， culture and education， etc. First Minister Salmond thanked Vice Foreign Minister Li Hui for his meeting with the delegation and CPAFFC Vice President Li Jianping for accompanying the delegation throughout its visit in China， and said that his first visit to China was a full success. The first minister said， the Scottish people were happy over Beijing’s successful holding of the 2008 Olympic Games and the Paralympics and also felt proud of the excellent performance by the Scottish pipers at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. He stated， the Scottish Government wishes to maintain and consolidate its good relations with China， sticks to its “one China” stand on China’s core issues such as Taiwan and Tibet， and will push forward friendly exchanges and practical cooperation in all fields with China.

Implementing Cooperation Programmes by Strengthening Contacts with Chinese Departments

When meeting with the first minister and his party on the afternoon of April 10， Vice Chairman Lu Yongxiang noted， China and the U. K. are facing the same opportunities and challenges. There is sound basis for cooperation in renewable energy between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the U. K. and the two sides should strengthen cooperation in it and other alternative energy such as wind power， biomass， tidal power and garbage power so as to contribute to the efforts to resolve the global energy crisis and tackle climate change. Vice Chairman Lu expressed appreciation of the Scottish Government’s efforts to explore and develop renewable marine energy. In December 2008， the Scottish Government launched the 10-million-pound Saltire Prize， the world’s first prize for innovation in renewable marine energy. Lu said that he was honoured to be invited to serve as a member of the Saltire Prize Challenge Committee. The first minister held that there is large room for cooperation between the two sides and that Scotland is willing to cooperate with the CAS in the field of renewable energy and conduct scientific researches together.

On the afternoon of April 8， when meeting with First Minister Salmond and his party， Tu Guangshao， vice mayor of Shanghai， briefed the guest on the city’s urban development and its efforts to build it into an international financial centre. He hoped that Shanghai would learn from the experience of the U. K. and Scotland in urban development and suggested that the two sides enhance cooperation in fund and asset management， financial personnel training， public transport and energy. The first minister said， China has shouldered the great responsibility of a major power at the on-going global financial crisis. This crisis can not last forever and the world economy will gradually get out of this difficult period. Scotland wishes to cooperate with China and with Shanghai and carry out substantial exchanges in all fields including economy， finance and education.

On the morning of April 10， GAQSIQ Director Wang Yong met with the first minister and his party. The two sides discussed concrete problems of quality supervision， inspection and quarantine on potato and other agricultural produce and food， and the registration of geographical indications of such products as whisky， etc.

Deepening Understanding and Fostering Closer Ties

On the morning of April 9， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu met with the delegation that came to pay a visit. During the meeting President Chen recalled the friendly exchanges between the CPAFFC and the Scottish Government in recent years， noting that cooperation between them has been smooth and their friendship deepening. He said， the good cooperation between the CPAFFC and Scotland has vigorously increased understanding at various levels between China and the U. K. and pushed forward practical exchanges and cooperation between China and Scotland in all fields. First Minister Salmond thanked President Chen for meeting with him and his party， the CPAFFC for making arrangements for his visit， and Vice President Li Jianping for accompanying the delegation throughout the visit. He said， the meticulous care taken and the friendship shown by the CPAFFC deepened his understanding of the Association and increased the friendly feelings between the two sides. The Scottish Government would maintain close contact with the CPAFFC and carry out cooperation programmes on rural development and traditional Chinese medicinal therapy for keeping fit.

In the evening， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu attended and delivered a warm speech at the reception given by the first minister for publicizing Scotland.