Referendum offers chance for China-Scottish ties

“Looking ahead, Chinese people will be interested in more and more of Scotland’s great companies and products, not only whisky and golf, but technology, tourism and new consumer products from digital games to textiles."

“Scotland will also be the home to more and more growing Chinese companies, building on the success of the many who have already found a new home there, as we sustain our position as one of Europe’s best inward investment locations.”

Diane Duncan, head of low carbon with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, has been focusing her efforts on growing the value of Scotland’s water sector, and in particular, boosting SME capability and exports.

“We have a number of companies already working in China in the environmental sector, and indeed China is looking for technologies to address growing and very real water quality and pollution problems,” she says.

“Scotland has an excellent reputation for water excellence and this is no accident. The governance and regulation of Scotland’s utilities are unique, and our agencies recognize that our environment really is our economy.”

“The referendum has put a spotlight on Scotland,” Diane adds, “and now we need to build on the positive perceptions of a progressive country to help us deliver economic growth.”

At the Asia Scotland Institute we are also doing our bit.

The Institute’s goal is to equip Scotland’s leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to engage more effectively with China and the rest of Asia.

We achieve this by offering a series of innovative programs and events, including talks by business leaders such as Dominic Barton, global head of McKinsey & Company.

Next spring we will be hosting a two-day “Building Bridges” conference in Edinburgh, which aims to help develop business and economic links across the globe through commerce, tourism, culture and higher education.

We are not alone.

Scotland’s higher education institutions have come together with eight different partners, including British Council Scotland, to form Connected Scotland — an initiative that seeks to promote the distinctive qualities of Scottish universities to countries throughout the world.

Scotland’s university sector is acknowledged as an industry sector in its own right.

Its annual exports totaled 1.3 billion pounds in 2011/12. Connected Scotland aims to increase that to 2 billion pounds by 2017.

Meanwhile, Scotland is proud to host five Confucius Institutes on its shores — the highest concentration worldwide in terms of population.

Sir Timothy O’Shea, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, is a member of the Confucius Institute’s governing council.

China is vitally important to Scotland. We know that. And we know too that we have so much to offer China’s business community in return.

Our independence referendum may have been a momentous moment in history.

But when it comes to Sino-Scottish relations our watchword is business as usual. We’ve made great strides already. We must simply keep calm and carry on.

Roddy Gow OBE is chairman and founder of The Asia Scotland Institute.