By Matthew Rous

Nations across the world are grappling with the economic impact of Covid-19. Scotland is in no way alone in having lost exports and jobs to this once-in-a-century catastrophe. When, as we all hope happens soon, the country emerges from the pandemic, clawing back lost ground will be an urgent priority.

Happily, Scotland can tap into strong trading links with China in taking forward the recovery.

At the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) we have been fortunate to work with countless Scottish businesses over the years to help build their success in exporting to the world’s second-largest economy. The growing appeal of Scottish products and services is palpable right across China.

But don’t just take my word for it: look at the data.

A new report commissioned by CBBC from respected global consultancy Cambridge Econometrics demonstrates how this trade is now translating into the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Scots. In all, Scotland’s economic ties with China support up to 10,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

The bulk of those jobs – some 5,000 to 7,000 – are tied to trade in goods. The oil industry is particularly important, thanks to the surge in exports of crude and related products from Scotland to China in recent years. But renewables too are a big part of the story. As China looks to diversify its energy sources, this will provide the underpinning for a growing number of jobs in Scotland, which will host the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in 2021, after a year’s Covid delay.

With its recently announced new five-year plan, China is redoubling its efforts to make consumers the key engine of economic growth. What does that mean for Scotland? An ever-growing market of wealthier, highly educated Chinese people keen to buy premium products like whisky and salmon. Direct exports of Scotch whisky to China were already worth £88 million last year, a number that is considerably higher when shipments via places like Hong Kong and Singapore are factored in. China is also one of the world’s top three markets for Scottish salmon, accounting for nearly £60m of exports last year.

The popularity of major Scottish exports in China is one reason why the country has become such a popular destination for Chinese tourists. That in turn is feeding into jobs growth, with Scotland now home to nearly 10% of British employment linked to tourism from China. Edinburgh alone has an estimated 1,200 jobs supported by Chinese visitors’ spending, Cambridge Econometrics estimates.

Scotland’s success in attracting Chinese students has been another source of jobs growth, the report finds. Over the last five years, Chinese student numbers at the University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow alone have increased by a combined 3,250. Employment supported by their spending has risen by 55% to 1,700 over this period too.

Given China’s still-massive potential, maintaining and expanding Scotland’s ties across trade, tourism and education has the potential to be a vital growth driver in the years to come. China entered the Covid crisis first. It is also the first to recover. Retail sales in China’s October Golden Week holidays were up by nearly 5% year-on-year. Scotland has the right mix of industrial and soft power appeal to embrace this tide and to ride the China recovery wave.

None of this is to deny that many Scots have well-founded concerns about aspects of life in China. Scots have strong views for example over China’s actions in Hong Kong and its wider human rights record. To achieve influence and impact on these difficult issues, Scotland must nurture its relationship with China, pressing for improvements through dialogue, while continuing to engage in ways that not only help to make Scottish voices heard but also benefit Scottish workers.

Scottish business understands this very well. Those who represent them and their employees have a duty to follow the facts and hear the message too.

Matthew Rous is chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council