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Local authorities in China
Which local authorities are working with China and what are they doing?
Angus council
Following its work with the Tayside Racial Equality Council in 1996, Angus Council was encouraged to consider twinning with a counterpart in China. The move was supported by the Confederation of Chinese Associations in Scotland and by the Chinese consulate in Edinburgh. Angus Council has developed close working relationships with both organisations in the last decade. Commerce was identified as the driver for the twinning relationship, with the view to strengthening the Angus economy.
With help from the Chinese Consulate the council decided to link with the municipality of Yantai in Shandong province (population 6.5m). The first trade mission visited Yantai in 1998 and in January 1999 a ‘sister city link Agreement’ was signed. Both parties have been fully committed to the relationship and strong political ties have been developed between the Yantai and Angus council.
Angus council has led five missions to China, the most recent of which visited Yantai, Beijing and Shanghai in March 2006. In return, the council has hosted four missions from Yantai.
There have been many additional visits both ways by key individuals and company representatives to explore trade, tourism and educational initiatives. Not only has the Yantai connection given over 50 Angus and Tayside companies an introduction to the challenging market of China but most of those who have visited China on trade missions have achieved sales, have sourced products and materials or established some form of business alliance.
Notable successes include Angus company IMT Marine Consultants Ltd who won the contract to design and project manage the construction of four oil/gas support vessels at the Yantai Shipbuilding Yard; an engineering company that secured orders of over £1m and which has now established a manufacturing plant in China; the procurement of machine parts and food processing equipment helping Angus firms regain their competitiveness in winning orders in Europe; and two other companies who now have manufacturing operations in China.
In 2002 a co-operation agreement was signed between Carnoustie Championship Golf Links (owned by Angus Council) and Tiger Beach Golf Links – a Scottish links-style course in Haiyang (Yantai) – and the two courses are now involved in joint promotions. This has been widened through a programme of co-operation with Shanghai Silport Golf course which has been host to the Volvo China Open six times.
Carnoustie and Shanghai Silport are now co-operating in joint promotions aimed at 2007 when the British Open returns to Carnoustie and the Volvo Open returns to Silport.
These efforts are already bearing fruit with the arrival of 36 golfers from Shanghai this April to participate in the first Tartan Day International Golf Challenge played over St Andrews, Gleneagles, Carnoustie and Montrose.
On the cultural front, the evening of 6th April 2006 saw a momentous occasion that recognised the strong links Angus has with China. At the ‘Tartan Day’ dinner, China was presented with its own officially recognised ‘Chinese Scottish Tartan’. Madame Guo, the Chinese consul general in Edinburgh (who has written the foreword to this supplement) received a sash made from this new tartan.
Angus council, working with Madame Guo and the Chinese community in Scotland, played a significant role in creating China’s own tartan that fittingly was designed by Strathmore Woollen Company, a local Angus company.
West Lothian council
Cultural links and business opportunities between China and West Lothian were enhanced when West Lothian Council welcomed guests from Tianjin. A delegation from the local government in Tianjin came in July on a two-day visit of West Lothian, with an aim to share experiences of culture, local government, and enterprise.
Visitors were briefed on the work of West Lothian council and facilitated visits to West Lothian House, Strathbrock Partnership Centre and West Lothian College. The delegation was also introduced to local businesses including Glenmorangie, Schuh and Hopetoun House.
Convener of West Lothian council’s enterprise and development committee, Councillor Willie Dunn, said: “It is very important that West Lothian strengthens ties and friendships with different areas across the world. China has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and West Lothian is the fastest growing area in Scotland, so it is helpful to discuss and examine how each area supports and encourages new business. There is real potential for future collaborations between West Lothian and Tianjin.”
Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce
Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed the vice-governor of Hunan province, Mr Xu Yunzhao, accompanied by a delegation of Chinese business people to Scotland. The visit was part of the ongoing business, education, government and tourism links with Hunan developed in association with Scottish Business Consortium 3X Ltd.
Having gained support from both Lanarkshire councils and meetings with Scotland’s first and finance ministers, the visit culminated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding between both chambers.
The Scottish Chamber of Commerce believes that we need to build and develop the existing regional links created by the public sector to enable the private sector to do business across all industry sectors and markets. This can be fast-tracked by using Scotland to host and facilitate inward missions of Chinese entrepreneurs.
The Chamber of Commerce is currently developing programmes with the international Chamber of Commerce across China to extend business-to-business links.
Glasgow
Glasgow has been twinned with the northeastern city of Dalian since 1987. The two cities share a number of features in common, not least their engineering and maritime heritages. Over the years, the two cities have co-operated extensively, and projects have included reciprocal civic, cultural and trade delegations.
Most recently, these have included a visit by a major delegation to Glasgow in 2005 which was led by mayor of Dalian, Mr Xia Deren. Other events have included participation by young people from Dalian in “One World” – a multinational youth event in Glasgow; and annual visits by the Lord Provost of Glasgow to the Dalian International Fashion Fair.
Next year it is planned that the 20th anniversary of twinning will be marked by a programme of special events; in parallel, a proposal is being developed to launch a new trade-based initiative between Glasgow and Dalian, also involving Edinburgh, and its twin city own of Xi’an.
Perth
Perth and Kinross council have a long-standing twinning arrangement with Haikou in Hainan province. The twinning arrangement arose from strong links with the Chinese community in Perth and Kinross. Official delegations from Perth and Kinross visited Hainan in 1991 and 2000, mostly concentrating on civic business. There have also been many inward civic and business missions to Perth and Kinross from Hainan.
In order to open up a business dialogue between the two regions, Perth & Kinross Council Economic Development Unit org-anised a business delegation to take part in the SCDI mission to Shanghai and Hong Kong earlier this year, which also included a visit to Haikou (the capital of Hainan Province). Among the delegation were a number of businesses from the Perth and Kinross area, Perthshire Chamber of commerce and Perth College.
Reports following the mission from the business delegation were positive, particularly from those businesses making the journey to Hainan.
Perth and Kinross is hoping to encourage more businesses from Tayside to take part in a similar mission next March.
Edinburgh
The cities of Edinburgh and Xi’an have been twinned since 1984. Xi'an is the capital of Shaanxi province in China with a population of approximately 7.5m. It has the largest financial, transport and communications centre of the northwest regions. Alongside agriculture, its electronics, aerospace and biomedicines industries are growing.
Many of the world’s top companies have invested in Xi’an’s Hi Tech Industries Development Zone.
Historically, Xi'an has been one of the most important cities in the world. A well-preserved defensive wall that was reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty still surrounds the city and the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and his Terracotta Army are world-famous. This rich history contributes to a flourishing tourism industry and like Edinburgh; Xi’an is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the first projects between Edinburgh and Xi’an was an exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors in the City Arts Centre in Edinburgh. It was a UK exclusive and a tremendous success, attracting 225,000 visitors in just eight weeks. This year, Edinburgh hosted a development visit by the chief of the Xi’an Foreign Affairs Office to explore a broadening of activities, in particular within the context of higher education and economic links. It is hoped that the Scottish Executive’s new China Strategy will provide impetus for such sectoral linkages.
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