On 22 November, the Meeting of the Friendship and Cooperation between Shandong and Scotland was held online and offline by the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province (SDFAO) and the Chinese Consulate-General in Edinburgh. Consul General Ma Qiang, Cai Xianjin, Director-General of the SDFAO, Zhou Yunping, Vice President of the Shandong Federation of Industry and Commerce, Martin McDermott, Representative of Scottish Government Office in China, David Valentine MBE, Trade Ambassador of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), Tim Allen, President of the SCC and Prof. Dame Joan Stringer, the first ever Scottish recipient of Shandong Honorary Citizenship attended and addressed the event. Over 50 representatives from business, educational and cultural sectors of the two sides joined the meeting.
Consul General Ma Qiang conveyed the 2021 Honorary Citizen Certificate of Shandong Province to David Valentine at the request of SDFAO and added his immense congratulations on behalf of the Consulate-General. CG Ma said that Mr. Valentine has been a sedulous and energetic promoter of China-Scotland relations and has helped foster many trade and cultural links over the past 25 years. His particular focus has been on building and strengthening partnerships between Shandong and Scotland. With due recognition of his outstanding achievements, the Shandong Provincial Government has given him this honor. Mr. Ma looked forward to seeing more people inspired by Valentine’s long-term engagement with China to make new contributions to the Sino-Scottish relationship. He also expected to celebrate further success of the cooperation between Shandong and Scotland, leading China-UK regional and local collaboration.
Cai Xianjin recognized Valentine’s instrumental role in delivering the 2006 cooperation agreement between Shandong and Scotland. He welcomed Scottish businesses to capitalize on the opportunities offered by Shandong’s new road to development with the continued support from the Chinese Consulate-General.
Martin McDermott spoke highly of many wide and strong ties between Scotland and China, which are made on trade, education, culture and more. He stressed that the friendship between Scotland and partners in China has continued to grow and flourish over recent years, despite challenging circumstances. He concluded by sharing one particular impact that Valentine has had on developing Scotland-China relationship, the design of the Chinese Scottish Tartan.
David Valentine said that he was very privileged to accept the award of Shandong Honorary Citizen and thanked for the accolade. He expressed that he would strive to connect more people in Scotland and China to think and work together for the benefit of both sides.
The signing ceremony for an MoU between the Shandong General Chamber of Commerce and the SCC was also held.
