A “wall of silence” has been put around a centre that promotes links between Scotland and China after details of its deal with the University of Edinburgh were withheld.

The university signed an agreement with the Confucius Institute of China in 2014, the year it became one of ten organisations in the world to be granted “special pioneer” status by Beijing. Since 2007 the university has been home to the Confucius Institute for Scotland, a centre for Chinese language and culture studies.

The university refused to disclose details of its latest deal, saying in response to a freedom of information request that it had signed a confidentiality clause and that “the parties have not agreed to disclosure”.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the three other