Policy Research Media Morhamburn

A cultural melting pot of bagpipes, dim-sum and pizza marked the opening of the Scotland China Chamber of Commerce today. Amid the dignitaries present was the Consul General Lipei Li, Tom McCabe MSP and sundry great-and-good from the worlds of business, finance and tourism.

As with all these inaugural events, there were a lot of ceremonials and formalities to get through, but underpinning it all was the fact that there are already quite significant Sino-Scottish trade links. And for a relatively new economic power like China that is reaching out, and a recession-hit economy like Scotland that is desperate for inward investment these links are very much worth cultivating.

As the economic centre of the world shifts eastward, I can’t help but feel that this is not the last we will hear of the Scotland China Chamber of Commerce.