Find out the latest from our office in Beijing, including a news roundup, Chinese New Year musings and Robert Burns celebrations across China!

1. Scottish Affairs Bulletin – Jan / Feb 2015
Burns in China: The Tones 四聲 in China
(not a Blues band but the defined pitches of
the mandarin syllabary) often render my
attempts to converse in mandarin in to
comedy and confusion. I was then at least
consistent when describing Burns to a
Chinese Official recently. I’d thought that
Burns’ surname in mandarin was 彭斯 (peng
ci) only to see all the to familiar polite look of
confusion on the face of said official. It turned
out I had been saying 胖子（pang zi） which
is an unkind word for an overweight person or
a large, chubby child (or interestingly a slang
word for the British pound). Anyway once we
cleared that up I was pleased to learn that
Burns is very much known in China and the
melody of Auld Lang Syne is as popular here
as it is in Scotland. The Scottish Affairs team
began our Burns marathon in Shanghai – with
a “Scotland’s Got Talent 1759” then
concluded with the “I’m sexy and a poet” offer
from the Scottish Society in Beijing. Including
our free Ceilidh for alumni and supper support
in Guangzhou and the Beijing Book Worm,
over a 1000 Diaspora, alumni, and friends of
Burns celebrated his birthday with us this year.
JS
新年快乐
xin nian kuai le
(sheen nyen kwy luh)
Happy New Year!
I was born in the year of the sheep – and I have been
told many many times that this is not auspicious. The
China Daily ran a whole supplement on this
challenging year for us sheep (rams and goats -take
your pick). It cites “legend has it that people will lead
difficult lives, because sheep are often eaten by
humans”. However, there is hope for me! The
legend also says that there are exceptions particularly
for those born at the beginning of the lunar year
(that’s me) as “… humans have killed enough sheep
by then for the Spring festival and will leave the rest
to live happily”. But just to be extra safe, my team
have bought me a red goat (above) for luck and
issued the following top tips. (below). JS
Chinese New Year is a
time for families to be
together.
2.8 billion people will travel
over the next 14 days to
celebrate Chinese New Year
with their family. It is the
single largest human
migration in the world.
This new year will be the
year of Sheep (or Goat or
Ram – the Chinese use the
same word for all three). In
Chinese astrology goats are
described as peace-loving
kind and popular. Famous
people born in the year of
Goat include Michelangelo,
Vincent Van Gogh, Mel
Gibson, Bill Gates, Steve
Jobs and 苏文强. IF

2. NEWS ROUND UP – FEBRUARY 2015
China's growth at 24-year low, further easing expected BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's economy grew 7.4 percent in
2014, the weakest annual expansion in 24 years, as the country braces for a "new normal" of slower yet higher quality
growth. Last year, China's gross domestic product reached 63.65 trillion yuan (10.4 trillion U.S. dollars), the National Bureau
of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday.
Li reassures investors of China's property market: DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on
Wednesday ruled out the possibility of a systematic financial risk in China, saying the recent fluctuations in its real estate
market were normal. Li said so when meeting with representatives of the International Business Council of the World
Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.
Journalists invited to cover China's major political meetings in March BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The annual session of
China’s political advisory and top legislature body CPPCC and NPC, or Lianghui in Chinese, will open on the 3rd and 5th
March. Journalists from China and abroad are being invited to cover the two major political meetings in March.
China to speed up agri modernization through reforms, innovations BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China will step up reforms
and innovation to speed up agricultural modernization in 2015, according to a key policy document released on Monday by
the Party and government on Sunday. Called the "No. 1 Central Document", it is the first major policy document of each year
released by the central party. This is the 12th consecutive year in which the document has focused on agriculture and rural
issues.
"One Belt and One Road" initiative to be unveiled, and four capital pools to be initiated (China Business News page A01)
The "One Belt and One Road" initiative, the creation of a Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, is to
be unveiled. The initiative will focus on top-level structure, instead of specific deployment. According to the initiative, the
relevant departments and local governments will issue supporting measures. The Silk Road fund, Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank, BRICS Development Bank and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Development Bank will provide
capital support for relevant programs in 2015.
Venture capital investment hits record high (China Daily Online) Beijing, 3rd Feb. - Venture capitalists made tremendous
strides in the Chinese market, helping drive 2014 investment to a record high, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. The
value of venture capital (VC) in Chinese companies reached $15.5 billion last year, which doubled the 7.3 billion recorded in
2011.
Credit card information leaked online, selling for RMB 0.5 per piece (The Beijing News page A14) China has issued over 400
million credit cards, and the annual transactions through credit cards have exceeded RMB 1.3 billion. In the opinions of most
people, credit card information should be protected. However, credit card information has been leaked online and sold for
RMB 0.5 per piece of information.
2.8 billion trips expected during spring festival in China BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2.807 billion trips are expected
to be made by Chinese people during the Spring Festival travel rush, according to the Ministry of Transport Thursday. The
number, which excludes trips through public buses and taxi, is 3.4 percent higher than the previous year, said Xu
Chengguang, spokesman of the ministry. The 40-day travel frenzy is known as "Chunyun", the hectic period surrounding
Chinese New Year which falls this year on Feb. 19. Chunyun began on Feb. 4 and will last until March 16.
Hong Kong democracy movement back on road, but turnout down (South China Morning Post) HK, 1st Feb. - Turnout for the
first major pro-democracy march of the post-Occupy era fell well short of expectations yesterday - but organisers rejected
suggestions people were growing less determined about the fight for democracy. Rather it was a sign Hongkongers no longer
had faith in "conventional ways" of protesting, Civil Human Rights Front convenor Daisy Chan Sin-ying said. She said more
"alternative" forms of civil disobedience could emerge unless the government heeded public opinion on "genuine democracy".
Xi Jinping congratulates newly-elected KMT chairman BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the
Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Committee, has congratulated Eric Chu for being elected as chairman of Taiwan's
ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party on Saturday. Chu, mayor of Taiwan's New Taipei City, was elected KMT chairman in an
uncontested election on Saturday, after Ma Ying-jeou resigned as party chief to take responsibility for the KMT's defeat in the
Nov. 29 local government elections. AW
Scottish National Ballet in China
Scottish Ballet was on tour in China this month
presenting their beautiful production of Romeo &
Juliet in Beijing and Jinan (the capital city of
Shandong). Artistic Director Christopher
Hampton and Chief Executive and Executive
Producer Cindy Sughrue made this a wonderful
showcase event for Scotland and allocated a
generous amount of tickets to the Scottish Affairs
Office, with which we were able to host a number
of key government and commercial contacts. All
of whom were in awe of the stunning and very
moving performance. AW
Scottish Affairs Office - Beijing
JS – John.Somers@fco.gov.uk
AW – Wang.Anjinh@fco.gov.uk
IF – Iris.Fu@fco.gov.uk

3. Ailsa Graham, the
Scottish Government’s
head of international
marketing ,joined the
Scottish Affairs team in
January. Ailsa and the team
led a number of focus
groups in Beijing, Shanghai
and Hong Kong with local
media, diaspora and alumni
to hear their thoughts and
ideas on how to promote
Scotland as a place to visit,
work, live and study. A
(very brief) summary of the
focus groups’ broad
perceptions of Scotland are
presented in table 1.
Table 1.
Impressions
of Scotland
-Beautiful place
-Good quality of higher
education
-Friendly people who are
proud of their culture
-Felt like a second home
Scotland’s
leading
industries
-Whisky/ Seafood
-Cashmere
-Golf
-Tourism
-Green Energy/Ocean
Energy
-Music/Film/Arts
-Biotech
Reasons
why alumni
chose to
study in
Scotland
-Better education
-A different student life
from that of China (more
study /life balance)
- 1 year master instead of
2 years master (U.S)
-Work opportunities/ PSW
visa
-Scholarship
Biggest
attractions in
Scotland for
China
tourists
-Highlands
-Golf tour
-Historic sites
-less expensive than other
destinations
-Events like
Hogmanay/Edinburgh
Festivals/Military Tattoo
In Shanghai, Iris Fu led a focus group and presentation with a
group of parents who are considering sending their children
abroad to study. We also met with student agencies to hear
their feedback on how to best promote Scottish universities in
this competitive market. In Beijing we met with Baidu to
explore ways in which we could use China’s largest search
engine to amplify Scotland’s brand in China and we met with
several marketing industry expert to find out more about
making the best use of our social media platforms in China
(Weibo, Weixin, Renren and Youku). All of this work will feed in
to our international marketing strategy for 2015-16. JS
KEY ECONOMIC HIGHLIIGHTS FOR OF 2014 (China Daily Online)
•GDP grows 7.4 percent - China's 2014 economic growth edged down to a
24-year low of 7.4 percent from 7.7 percent in 2013, the first time that it
missed the government's annual target in 16 years.
•CPI rises - China's consumer prices grew 2 percent in 2014 from one year
earlier, well below the government's 3.5 percent target set for the year. It
was also below the 2.6 percent growth registered in 2013.
•PPI falls - China's producer price index (PPI) posted its steepest fall in
more than two years in December amid a slump in global oil prices and
weak domestic demand.
•FDI up 1.7 percent - China saw growth of 1.7 percent gain recorded in
foreign direct investment, which was $119.6 billion in 2014, while outbound
investent totalled $102.89 billion, up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. This is
the first time the two-way nominal capital flows have been near a balance.
•Foreign trade increases - China's foreign trade increased 3.4 percent
year on year in 2014 denominated in US dollars, significantly lower than the
7.6 percent rise in 2013 and the 7.5 percent target. Denominated in US
dollars, exports rose 6.1 percent in 2014, while imports increased 0.4
percent.
•New yuan lending hits record high- China's new yuan-denominated
lending in 2014 hit a record high of 9.78 trillion yuan ($1.58 trillion), up 890
billion yuan from one year earlier. Total social financing in 2014 also rose to
a record high, standing at 16.46 trillion yuan, 859.8 billion yuan less than
2013.
•PMI - The manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI), a key
measure of factory activity in China, posted 50.1 in December, down from
50.3 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading
below 50 represents contraction.
•Housing prices - China's home-price decline continued to ease in
December, as fewer cities saw falling prices. Prices of new homes dropped
from the previous month in 65 of the 70 cities that the bureau tracks. That
compares with declines in 67 cities in November.
•Fixed assets investment up - China's real estate investment gained 10.5
percent year on year to 9.5 trillion yuan ($1.55 trillion) in 2014. The growth
rate was down by 9.3 percentage points from 2013 after a losing streak
throughout last year.
•Retail sales rise - China's retail sales rose 12 percent year on year in
2014 to 26.24 trillion yuan ($4.28 trillion). Retail sales, a key indicator of
consumer spending, continued to accelerate in December, rising 11.9
percent from a year earlier.
•Industrial output grows - Industrial output in China grew 8.3 percent in
2014 from a year ago, down from the 9.7 percent growth seen in 2013.
China uses industrial production (officially called industrial value added) to
measure the activity of designated large enterprises, each with annual
turnover of at least 20 million yuan. AW