Scotland to lure Chinese

The Scottish executive is seeking to attract up to 12,000 skilled Chinese to Scotland over the next four years to plug skill shortages in financial services, IT and electronics.

The Times says the move is part of the Scottish executive's plan to strengthen links with China.

"Chinese universities are producing large numbers of highly skilled graduates. I'm sure there would be a lot of benefit to the Scottish economy if some of them wanted to work and live here," says Alan Mitchell, assistant director with Confederation of British Industry Scotland. "However, it shouldn't be seen as a reason not to continue effort to upskill and reskill the indigenous population."

Last year, about 2,000 Chinese people moved to live and work in Scotland. The executive hopes to increase the number coming to Scotland by 10% each year until 2010