EDINBURGH - Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond on Friday hailed strengthened cooperation in energy sectors between Scotland and the Chinese side.

At a banquet inside the Edinburgh Castle to wrap up the trip to Scotland by a joint delegation of energy companies from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Salmond congratulated the delegation on the signing of three Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs).

As a result of two days of business-to-business consultations, the MoUs entail a potential amount of capital of 5 billion pounds ($8.5 billion), said Salmond, who expected more cooperation agreements in the future.

The business survey trip focused on sectors of new energy and environmental protection, with the aim of combining the advantages of the vast Chinese market and Scotland's advanced energy technology and affluent resources to further promote Chinese business investment in Scotland, said Zhuo Zefan, director of the Cross-Strait China Culture Communication Foundation.

Delegates from some 20 energy companies attended the business environment and energy investment survey trip.

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