NICOLA Sturgeon has been urged to detail the human rights issues she claims to have raised directly with the Chinese government.
The First Minister was challenged to reveal exactly what she said to the Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, who she met in Beijing as part of a week-long visit.
In a statement following the meeting, Ms Sturgeon said: “Our China Strategy is underpinned by promoting equality and a respect for human rights, social values and the rule of law.
“This is a key part of our relationship. We discussed those subjects today, and also inclusive economic growth, women’s rights and children’s rights.”
Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie, who has pressed the First Minister over China’s human rights record, said she should be transparent about what was said.
He said the SNP government had yet to show it had learned the lessons of the so-called “Scottish shambles”, when it got into bed with a Chinese firm linked to human rights abuse.
Economy Secretary Keith Brown was last year forced to apologise to MSPs after it emerged the SNP Government had been suckered by a bogus £10bn investment deal with China.
The First Minister signed a memorandum of understanding with the firm SinoFortone and the state-backed Chinese Railway No3 Engineering Group (CR3).
It then emerged CR3’s parent company had been blacklisted by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund over corruption concerns and been accused of human rights abuses in Africa.
Sinfortone, which had said it would invest up to £10bn in projects in Scotland, later failed to deliver on promised deals across the UK, and its sole UK asset turned out to be a pub.
In the wake of the fiasco, the SNP Government said it would beef up its due diligence to take human rights into account.
But Mr Rennie said: “The Scottish Government has not delivered the strengthened human rights assessments process it promised over a year ago. We are still waiting for the new protocol for public agencies operating in countries of concern too.
“So when the First Minister discussed human rights with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, the Scottish public will have to hope her words were stronger than her government’s deeds.
“Nicola Sturgeon should be open with the public about the human rights issues she has raised with the Chinese Government and the progress she has made."
Ms Sturgeon said she had had a “very constructive discussion” with Vice Premier Hu about the longstanding friendship between Scotland and China.
She said: “We reflected on my previous visit to China in 2015, and Vice Premier Hu’s visit to Scotland in 2017.
"In addition, we discussed the successful UK-China People to People Dialogue in December, during which I welcomed former Vice Premier Liu Yandong to Edinburgh, and explored opportunities for future high level discussion.
“Today, I was particularly interested to explore some of the main themes of my visit – trade and investment, education and culture.
“I made clear our commitment to continue to cooperate closely in these areas.
“There are clearly enormous opportunities for Scottish firms to do business in China.
“Sectors including energy, research and innovation and life-sciences all offer significant potential for growth, and I will be working to strengthen relationships in these areas.”
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