Ladies and Gentlemen:

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is also the 65th anniversary of China-UK diplomatic relationship at the chargé d'affaires level.

In the past 65 years, China-UK relationship has gone through an extraordinary journey and grown by leaps and bounds. This has provided a sound environment for China-Scotland cooperation. In my opinion, under the new circumstances, there are three major opportunities for enhancing cooperation between our two sides.

The first opportunity comes from China's development.

In the past 70 years, China has changed tremendously:

A secluded and backward nation has opened up to the world and achieved remarkable progress;

A country that could once barely fed and clad its people is building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects;

And an impoverished and weak country has gained prosperity and strength.

China is now the world's

second largest economy,

largest industrial country,

largest trader in goods,

and biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves.

China is deepening reform on all fronts and opening its market wider to the world. In the coming 15 years, China is expected to import more than 30 trillion dollars of goods and 10 trillion dollars in services.

As President Xi Jinping said, "China will open its arms to the world and share with other countries the opportunities of its market, investment and growth. Together, we can achieve development for all."

The UK is China's second largest trading partner in the EU. Scotland has unique advantages in such areas as education, science and technology, renewable energy, tourism and creative industry. There is a broad prospect for China-Scotland cooperation. I hope Scotland will work more closely with China. We could match our comparative strengths and achieve win-win results.

The second opportunity is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Six years after its launch, BRI has become a popular international public goods and a platform for cooperation. It has provided new impetus for economic globalisation.

Last April, the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing. This marked the beginning of a new chapter in BRI development.

China is pursuing high-quality BRI development under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It has signed 198 documents on BRI cooperation with 137 countries and 30 international organisations. It has also invested more than 100 billion dollars in countries along the BRI routes. These investments have helped create 367,000 jobs and 4.09-billion-dollar tax revenue in host countries.

The UK is a natural partner of China in building BRI. During the 10th China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue earlier this year, our two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in third markets. This has provided new impetus for deeper China-UK cooperation on BRI.

In April last year, SCC signed an MOU on BRI cooperation with the China Chamber of International Commerce.

It is my hope that Scotland will leverage its strengths and play an active role in BRI development. We could match our needs and deepen cooperation on international standard-setting, on green finance and in third markets. I am sure our cooperation on BRI will become deeper and more substantial.

The third opportunity arises from building an open world economy together.

Both China and the UK champion and support free trade and open economy. In fact, the concept of "free trade" was born in Scotland when Adam Smith laid down the theoretical foundation for modern free trade in his masterpiece The Wealth of Nations.

China is opening its market wider to the world, including in the financial sector. It will abolish completely the business scope restrictions on foreign financial institutions in China. This means new opportunities for China-Scotland financial cooperation.

Scottish financial institutions, such as the Royal Bank of Scotland and General Accident, have already engaged in sound cooperation with China.

It is my hope that Scotland will seize the new opportunities and expand its cooperation with China in wider areas, at a higher level and in greater depth. At the same time, I hope Scotland will adopt an open attitude and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies, such as Huawei, to do business here.