Working with China: five-year engagement strategy

ANNEX A

IMPLEMENTATION AND DELIVERY

The delivery of the priority areas and their associated targets is not just the responsibility of the Scottish Government. It will be for stakeholders across Scotland to work in partnership to achieve these objectives and drive forward our engagement. The Scottish Government's role is to support this engagement where it can and encourage greater cooperation between stakeholders.

The role of the Scottish Government will be to facilitate and maximise collaboration across Scotland through partnership working by focussing our support into the following four key areas:

1. Facilitating Greater Collaboration and Partnership Working in Scotland:

• Sharing information more regularly - developing a central hub for information on Scotland-China links, to share details of incoming and outgoing delegations, priority regions and sectors. A blog or newsletter from this central point, encompassing updates from the Scottish Affairs Office in China would also be included.
• Encouraging continued and greater partnership working to deliver the strategy through the Scottish Government setting up and facilitating a Stakeholder Implementation and Delivery Forum to build links and share best practice amongst those key stakeholders with an interest in China.
• Keeping this strategy relevant by carrying out an internal annual review to check the targets are still relevant.
• Facilitating a co-ordinated approach across sectors through the central hub and the Stakeholder Implementation and Delivery Forum.
• Continuing to bring together stakeholders from across different sectors, and develop cross sector plans and initiatives, where it makes sense to do so.

2. Utilising Resources and Relationships Outwith Scotland to Support Our Work:

• Working with FCO, UKTI, British Embassy and British Council in China and other UK institutions/organisations based in China in order to help develop our own Scottish connections in China.
• Working with UK and EU departments to ensure Scotland makes the most of the opportunities that the UK and EU platforms in China offer, and that UK and EU departments are supporting Scotland's priority interests where possible.
• Maintaining and developing our lines of communication with other UK Government departments, agencies and wider stakeholders to facilitate discussion of ideas and to take forward our work with China.

3. Raising Awareness of Scotland in China:

• Making more use of digital, print and social media in communicating key messages about Scotland in China, including greater understanding and appreciation of Scotland's distinct identity.
• Ensure 'Scotland the Brand' highlights Scotland for its traditional assets and also promotes a modern, innovative nation with a national purpose and contribution that is both relevant to China and reflects our aims. We will work across Government, agencies and stakeholders to ensure a consistent representation of the Scottish brand and coherent messaging. This will strengthen our voice in this very competitive and noisy market.
• Make maximum use of Scottish holidays and festivals to raise awareness of Scotland in China and to engage our Chinese audiences in key cities across China.
• Engage key target audiences including school children and teachers, students, business, communities, diaspora, alumni groups and media.
• Make maximum use of new media including www.scotland.cn to promote Scotland.
• Engage diaspora networks (alumni, Globalscots, affinity groups) to help develop Scotland's reputation and influence in China, leading to opportunities across all sectors. These include Chinese alumni of Scottish education institutions and Globalscots resident in China.

4. Focusing the work of the Scottish Government:

• Capitalise on our common interests - identifying them and working to make most of opportunities.
• Focusing on key areas, where Scotland has its biggest strengths - we will prioritise on what we can provide to China and pursue ideas in that way.
• Through representation of Scotland in China that complements the wider UK programmes we will continue to raise the profile of, and promote engagement with Scotland in its own right across all sectors.
• Identifying opportunities that arise through our engagement with China at Ministerial and official level.
• We will encourage greater collaborative working with agencies, recognising that we can achieve far more with our limited resources through pooling of our strengths and effort. Including coordinating work with stakeholder groups.
• Ensuring actions are incorporated into the business plans of the relevant Government directorates and other public bodies.
• Securing Government funding for priority proposals and plans.
• Identifying, developing and maintaining key relationships in China in support of Scottish interests.
• Managing or supporting activity as agreed with stakeholders.
• Continued funding of the Scottish Affairs Office in Beijing so that Scotland has full-time distinct representation within the British Embassy in Beijing.
• We will continue to align China activities across Scottish Government directorates and agencies.