This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Burns and whisky gang thegither
25/01/2005
Two of Scotland's greatest assets - Robert Burns and Scotch Whisky - are at the heart of a Chinese charm offensive being led today in Beijing by Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace.
Figures released today by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) show that sales of whisky continued to soar in China in the second half of 2004 and this coincides with Mr Wallace publishing a book of Burns poetry specially translated into Chinese to mark a Burns Night celebration in Beijing.
The Executive is stepping up its promotion of Scotland activity in China following last week's agreement that Chinese people will now be able to travel to Scotland as tourists following the removal of travel restrictions.
Mr Wallace was very upbeat about Scotland's prospects for exploiting this new opportunity.
He pointed out that since tariff liberalisation whisky sales have boomed in China and that "the removal of tourism barriers opens the way for a similar success story for Scotland."
Mr Wallace said:
"Two of our greatest assets are already hugely popular with the Chinese. China is a land of opportunity for Scotland.
"The SWA figures show that in the first ten months of 2004 the volume of Scotch exports to China rose by 137 per cent. This amounts to a 122 per cent increase in the value of shipments of whisky to China in the period January to October 2004 and is the equivilant of an extra 3.7 million bottles of whisky being shipped to China compared to the same period in 2003.
"Sales of whisky continue to grow at a fantastic rate. China is a top priority market for the Scotch Whisky industry and there has been a rapid growth in sales since tariff liberalisation began in 2000 once China joined the WTO.
"Indeed, with the rate of import reduced to its final "binding" of 10 per cent on January 1st, 2005, the way should be clear for further market penetration in China.
"Also, Burns is far from an unknown quantity in China. Songs such as Auld Lang Syne are very well known and feature prominently at celebrations such as the Chinese New Year (February 9th in 2005), weddings and graduations.
"I know the book of translated poetry will be well received by our guests in Beijing. I hope that the evening of celebration to mark the Bard's national day will give the Chinese a true flavour of what Burns means to Scots.
"Whisky and Burns are just two of the great assets Scotland has to offer the Chinese.
"We will be using them and a whole lot of other things such as our vibrant cities, our stunning countryside and our world famous golf courses as we look to exploit the huge opportunity provided by last week's agreement that Chinese tourists can now travel to Scotland.
"Few countries have so many instantly recognisable assets at their disposal and we will take advantage of that.
"What we have seen in China with whisky is that sales have boomed ever since tariff liberalisation began in 2000. I think we have good reason to believe that the removal of tourism barriers will open the way for a similar success story for our tourism sector."