Nicola Sturgeon has been briefed by Amnesty International on the current human rights situation in China ahead of a five-day trip to boost trade.

The First Minister said she would bring up concerns with Chinese leaders in a "constructive and appropriate way" and also confirmed she would make a speech on children's rights while in the country.

She will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong between April 9 and 13, to conduct a series of high-level business and government meetings.

There are also a number of events planned to boost cultural links between both countries.

It was announced in March that the first direct Scotland-China commercial air link will begin from Edinburgh Airport in June.

The SNP leader sat down with STV's Halla Mohieddeen to discuss the plans for her trip to the world's most populous nation and what she hopes to achieve.

The focus of the official visit is trade, with Scottish exports to China rising by more than 40% last year, driven in large part by a 47% boost in sales of Scotch whisky.

It amounts to £2.2bn of exports from Scotland to China in 2017 compared with £1.6bn the year before.

When asked about broaching the topic of human rights while on the trade-dominated visit, Sturgeon said: "We condemn human rights abuses wherever and whenever they occur.

"I'm a great believer that as a leader of a country wanting to do business and wanting to expand business, we've got to be very firm about the values and principles we hold dear and not compromise on that."

She added that this needed to be done in a "constructive and appropriate" manner so as not be "counter-productive".

The First Minister continued: "I met with Amnesty International last week as I did ahead of my last visit to China to be briefed on the issues that are of current concern to them.

"As I did on my last visit in China, both in one-to-one but also on public platforms, I will raise the issue of human rights.

"The last visit, I chose to do that by focusing on women's rights in a speech that was praised by Amnesty International. I'll make a speech in this visit about children's rights to a Unicef event."

Her previous visit to China was in 2015 and she also met the country's vice premier, Liu Yandong, in Edinburgh last year.

The First Minister signed a controversial £10bn memorandum of understanding with firms owned by the Chinese state but the deal later collapsed.

It emerged there were corruption concerns and human rights abuses related to the parent company of one of the firms involved in the memorandum, China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group.

The First Minister confirmed she would be meeting a number of energy companies during this month's visit across both the oil and gas sector and the renewables sector.

Tune in for more of the First Minister's interview on STV News Tonight at 7pm on STV2 on Friday.