Tuesday 12th July 2011
Extending the hand of lasting friendship
The Scotsman
Understanding each other's heritage will lead to a profitable partnership for China and Scotland.
Scottish inventors have made extraordinary contributions to human progress. Chinese students learn about this in their textbooks: James Watt with the steam engine; Alexander Fleming and penicillin; Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone and John Logie Baird with television. Scotland is indeed blessed with abundant resources and ingenious people.
This week will be my third visit to Scotland since I became Chinese ambassador to Britain just over a year ago. I have admired the Highlands, the home of golf, whisky, bagpipes and kilts. But I respect how Scotland does not just rely on its beauty and heritage. I know it is home to a large number of vibrant businesses and world-class universities. These have given birth to many inventions and insights.
More than 200 years ago, another great Scot, Adam Smith, gave the world the insight of his theories of the market economy and free trade. These are of huge global relevance today. The core of free trade is mutual benefit. Today mutual benefit, too, is why China and Scotland are engaged in co-operation.