Diplomatic Pouch: With Mike Peters

Philip Morgan, the first secretary of Scottish Affairs at the British embassy in China, recently welcomed the crew from the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital yacht to Qingdao. The yacht is the city's entry in the Clipper Round the World Race 2011-12, considered to be the world's longest yacht race.

The 68-foot Edinburgh Inspiring Capital and its 12 crew members arrived in Qingdao on Feb 24 after a sail from Singapore. Qingdao was the crew's only stopover in China as part of the Clipper race.

The crew, many of whom had never sailed before, includes a mother-and-son duo from Edinburgh, 18 transplant patients and professionals, including a double-lung transplant recipient. Also aboard: Hector, the boat's official mascot, a hairy "Heilan Coo", a Scottish breed of beef cattle that has long horns and long wavy coats. The royal-warranted company Kinloch Anderson also created special kilts called breacans for those on board (apparently including Hector), made from Edinburgh tartan and designed for leisure and sports.

EU Ambassador to China Markus Ederer met Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng last week to discuss cooperation in the field of urbanization as both sides strive to create modern, livable and green cities. Ederer also visited an EU-funded Switch Asia project, which trains people in energy-efficient building processes, at Tongji University.

The European Union's chief economist in Beijing, Annika Melander, held a seminar last week to conclude the "euro exhibition", at the University of International Business and Economics.

The exhibition was launched on Feb 15 by the EU's top officials, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, as well as Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China. Melander discussed the history of the euro, current challenges and the road ahead. The exhibition goes to the Harbin Institute of Technology in this month, before continuing its tour around 10-12 other major Chinese universities.

Spain's consul general in Shanghai, Gonzalo Ortiz Dez-Tortosa, will be on hand on March 17 as the Bullfighting Beyond The Barrier exhibition opens for a three-month run at the Cervantes Institute. The photography show will be augmented by a film series about bullfighting and flamenco - including a live dance show. The Shanghai opening comes after the exhibition was presented for three months in Beijing.

Czech Ambassador Libor Secka and his wife, Sabrina, hosted a private reception on Friday for the opening of Two Sides of A Mirror, an exhibition by Chinese artists Yan Li and Li Yan at the embassy in Beijing. The event was the latest in a three-year series, Embassy Art, under the primary sponsorship of Skoda automobile company and the Chinese telecom firm Huawei.

The Francophone Film Festival in Beijing continues with support from several European embassies. Switzerland and Romania are promoting Animal Heart, the story of a Swiss man who has less respect for his wife than his animals until a seasonal worker arrives on the scene. The film will be shown at the French Institute on March 10 and the Romanian embassy on March 27, in French with English and Chinese subtitles.

Embassy and consulate news can be sent to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn