Annex B: Case Studies
Angus Council
Arising from its work with the Tayside Racial Equality Council in 1996, Angus Council was encouraged to consider twinning with a counterpart in China. This move was supported by the Confederation of Chinese Associations in Scotland and by the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh and Angus Council have developed close working relationships with both organisations over the last 10 years. It was decided that commerce should be the driver for any twinning relationship, with the overall aim of strengthening the Angus economy. With help from the Chinese Consulate, the Council decided to link with Yantai in Shandong Province (population 6.5 million). 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 Yantai and Angus Council which have been fundamental to the success achieved.
So far 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 other 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 Chinese market but most of those who have visited China on trade missions have achieved sales, sourced products and materials or established some form of business alliance.
Notable successes include: an Angus company winning 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 £1 million and 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 now 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 in April 2006 to participate in the first Tartan Day International Golf Challenge played over St Andrews, Gleneagles, Carnoustie and Montrose. Other agreements include a link between the Yantai Tourism Bureau and the Angus and Dundee Tourist Board signed in September 2003.
On the educational front there are now active links between Yantai Vocational College and Angus College. Following a recent agreement between the education departments of Angus and Yantai, links have been established between two primary and two secondary schools, educational exchanges are now being planned and the teaching of Mandarin in Angus schools is being explored.
On the cultural front, the 6th of April 2006 marked a momentous occasion that recognised the strong links Angus has with China. At the "Tartan Day" dinner, a new, officially recognised, "Chinese Scottish Tartan" was launched. Angus Council, working with the Chinese Consul General in Edinburgh and with the Chinese community in Scotland, played a significant role in creating China's own tartan that was designed by Strathmore Woollen Company, a local Angus company. Much has been achieved by Angus Council and its local companies over the 10-year journey but this is only the beginning of the journey.
In the words of the Chinese Consul-General in Scotland, the new Chinese Tartan "is a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the Chinese and Scottish people. There are five colours in the design: red and yellow of the Chinese national flag, white and blue of the Scottish Saltire, and the green colour symbolises the excellent cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming Institute of Botany and the Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh and sustainable development of every aspect of the relationship between China and Scotland".
Napier University
A key strategic goal for Napier University is the internationalisation of its provision, staff and students. China, as the largest market for Scottish higher education institutions, is crucial to that. Napier was the first Scottish university to have a representative office in China. It currently has five members of staff in its office in Beijing, allowing the university to engage at all levels from state to provincial to institutional. Currently around 10 per cent of Napier's students are Chinese and the university views its engagement with China as a long-term relationship which has already created a number of strategic alliances with universities throughout China. These are in the form of articulation arrangements (that enable students from Chinese institutions to progress on to Napier's courses), joint research and staff exchanges.
The University is continually developing strong relationships with education providers and governmental organisations in China and most recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Governor of Shandong. This understanding will offer scholarships to Shandong government officials to study on Napier's MBA programme.
Students on Napier University articulation programmes in Shandong Province
Articulation Arrangements: For a number of years Napier has been accepting students from partner institutions on to undergraduate programmes at advanced level. However, in 2005-2006 a new form of articulation arrangement was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education and there are now more than 400 students studying these programmes in two partner universities (Zhenzhou University of Light Industry and Shandong University of Finance). Under these arrangements, Napier staff assisted in the creation of a syllabus which combined the rigour of Chinese academic culture with more innovative teaching and learning approaches used in Scotland. A feature of the programmes is that Napier staff are contracted to teach in China and that the students finish their degrees in Edinburgh. These programmes are in the areas of Consumer Product Design, Computing, Finance, International Trade and Business Studies.
Programmes Run in China: Napier has around 1,000 students studying for degrees and masters degrees in China. These are fully matriculated Napier University students who study programmes which are taught by Napier staff - with tutorial assistance from our partner universities. Partners with whom Napier teaches these programmes include the University of Hong Kong (one of Asia's top 10 universities). The students study a range of programmes in Business & Accountancy and Life Sciences, both part-time and full-time.
Research: Napier is the lead institution in the EU-China Direct Research Centre. This group, which includes more than 20 Chinese universities, was formed to establish a "facility" capable of attracting funds to develop a research and consultancy reputation in China. In the first year of its development there were more than 20 joint publications and one textbook translated into Chinese. The majority of the research collaboration to date has been in economics and finance, in particular the effect of China's entry into the World Trade Organization.
Caledonian Alloys
Caledonian Alloys provides revert management and processing services to the aerospace, land-based turbine and chemical industries. Headquartered in Livingston, the company has grown to become the world's largest specialist recycler of nickel, cobalt and titanium based superalloys with operations in the UK, the USA, France, the Czech Republic, New Zealand and China.
Caledonian's interest in the rapidly expanding Chinese market followed on from the knowledge that many of its existing aerospace customers were planning to set up manufacturing operations in the region. The company wanted to be in a position to provide its services to these customers but had little knowledge of operating in the Far East.
The company needed someone with knowledge of the country to help it to develop a strategy and facilitate entry into the marketplace and the answer came through Scottish Networks International ( SNI), an initiative that matches international postgraduate students studying at Scottish universities with Scottish businesses.
SNI introduced the company to Lixin Yan, a Chinese engineer with 10 years' work experience who was studying for an MBA in Scotland. A 12-month placement was arranged for Yan to help develop a market entry strategy for Caledonian Alloys.
Caledonian Alloys' Managing Director in China, Lixin Yan (a former Scottish Networks International associate) pictured at their plant in Tianjin.
The placement was extended by a further 12 months allowing Yan to work on implementing the strategy. By the end of the programme Caledonian had established a wholly owned foreign subsidiary company located in Tianjin. The Tianjin facility occupies 1000m 2 and carries out initial processing of superalloy materials which are then packaged and exported to Caledonian's other locations for final processing.
Yan joined Caledonian Alloys on a permanent basis in the role of Managing Director, China. A member of the senior management team he manages Caledonian's activities in Asia from the Livingston head office while travelling regularly to the region to meet with customers and suppliers. His knowledge and experience have been a major factor in the success of Caledonian's Chinese venture. Sales of $500,000 were generated in its first year and this year turnover is expected to reach $4,000,000 this year.
Caledonian Alloys has clearly established a strong base from which to grow its Asian business and has exciting plans for its future development.
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh ( RBGE) has established a strong relationship with China spanning decades. Acclaimed Scottish explorer George Forrest pioneered the botanisation of south-west China over a century ago. The Garden is home to the world's largest collection of Chinese plants outside China itself, set within the beautiful landscape of the unique Chinese Hillside. The herbarium contains thousands of dried Chinese plant specimens, whilst the library contains a wealth of Chinese botanical archives.
The "Jade Dragon Snow Mountain" Field Station and Lijiang Botanic Garden (the "Lijiang Project") is a conservation project run between the RBGE, the Kunming Institute of Botany and the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Science. It is part funded by Scottish Ministers along with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and commercial sponsors and is recognised as the first UK-China joint scientific laboratory.
The 21st century offers great environmental challenges - challenges such as the avoidance of habitat destruction, the description of new species and raising public awareness of these and similar issues. As well as plants being the source of life itself, the conservation of the natural environment also has dramatic effects on issues such as tourism, commerce, industry and people's quality of life. The worldwide boom in herbal medicine is threatening to wipe out up to a fifth of the plant species on which it depends, wrecking natural habitats and jeopardising the health of millions of people in developing countries.
His Excellency, President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China, visits the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
The Lijiang Project is a major step forward in meeting these challenges and is an enormous advancement towards the work of modern botanic gardens. There are an estimated 3,000 plant species which grow on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain - this compares to a mere 800 flowering plant species in all of Scotland. Field stations allow the opportunity to study and record the constantly changing and evolving natural world. This provides the basis for action plans to be put in place to conserve species and habitats.
The Lijiang Project achieves several objectives: it helps China to achieve its action plan on biodiversity and it pulls together scientists, diplomats, politicians and business-people to work on a single goal - sustainable land management for world conservation. The Project is a vehicle for education and training. It is heavily focussed on engaging the local community and particularly works on social inclusion, involving the poor (peasant farmers and their families). It creates a significant number of local jobs in horticulture, conservation, education, eco-tourism and construction.