Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is in China to pursue Sino-Scottish business opportunities in renewable energy, tourism, education and textiles.

His program includes bringing three trade missions to Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin: a Scottish Development International (SDI) textiles mission, a Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) delegation, and a tourism initiative called VisitScotland.

"Last year I undertook my first ever visit to China, and I was also honored to join the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic," said Salmond. "I am delighted to return this year to build on the success of that visit and to further boost opportunities across a range of sectors where Scotland has real strengths."

This program will build on recent successes in Sino-Scottish trade relations, including:

• Ayr-based company Neogen Europe Ltd. signed a partnership agreement with the Chinese government, expecting to bring an economic boost of £10 million to Scotland and paving the way for increased exports to China;

• Recent SCDI trade missions to China and Hong Kong generated almost £8 million of new orders for Scottish businesses and their delegations; and

• The number of Chinese visitors to Scotland increased by 50 percent in the last five years, generating millions of pounds for the Scottish economy.

Salmond will make a number of key announcements about the growing partnership between Scotland and China, including initiatives to encourage more tourists to visit Scotland.

"It is vital that the Scottish Government, our agencies and Scotland's business and education organizations do all they can to continue advancing Scotland's relationship with China, particularly as we pursue every avenue to build growth and help Scotland emerge as strongly as possible from the global downturn," he said.