Thawing China-Norway ties bear significance
Editor’s Note:
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg paid an official visit to China from Friday to Tuesday, which is the first of its kind by a Norwegian prime minister in a decade. What’s the significance of this visit? What can be expected from the cooperation between China and Northern Europe in the future? Global Times reporter Yang Chuchu talked with two experts on these issues.
Chen Zhimin, director of the Center for China- Europe Relations at Fudan University
This is a very important step in the relaunching of Sino- Norwegian relations. After the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010, ties between the two countries were frozen until the normalization of their relations at the end of last year. This visit can help restart the bilateral relationship.
During Solberg’s visit, China and Norway agreed to resume bilateral Free Trade Agreement ( FTA) negotiation. Norway was the first European country to start FTA negotiation with China. However, because of the Nobel Prize dispute, the bilateral FTA negotiation was stalled.
It is expected that the FTA negotiations could proceed quickly after Solberg’s visit. China and Norway have complementary economies. If an agreement can be reached, it will offer a substantial boost to the economic development of the two countries.
During her visit, Solberg said that Norway would adhere to the oneChina policy, and respect China’s core interests and major concerns, which is a very important political commitment and can remove obstacles in the development of bilateral relations. But
it cannot be guaranteed that there will be no problems between the two countries in the future. Some non- government organizations and political groups in Norway may still stir up troubles over issues such as human rights. But China would hope that bilateral ties will not be jeopardized by these issues with the commitment from Solberg administration.
Due to the frozen Sino- Norwegian relationship in the past few years, Beijing’s relationship with the whole of northern Europe has been tense. After the restoration of Beijing- Oslo relations, the depth and breadth of Chinese cooperation with northern Europe will have a brand new chance to
be strengthened.
Cui Hongjian, director of Department for European Studies of China Institute of International Studies
Since the end of last year, Sino- Norwegian relations have started to thaw. Therefore, the condition is ripe for Solberg’s China tour. After the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, SinoNorwegian cooperation has dwindled, which hampered the economic development of the two countries. Over the years, the Solberg administration has been trying to repair its relations with Beijing. Last December, Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende paid a visit to China. The two sides reached consensus on some sensitive political issues. During Solberg’s visit, the two countries reaffirmed their political confidence in each other and decided to restart the FTA negotiations, enhancing the bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
China and Norway’s economies complement each other in many ways. Norway is at the forefront of energy development, environmental protection and manufacturing, which can meet China’s market demands. With the improvement of Chinese people’s living standards, Norwegian fish products are in high demand in China. Moreover, the scale of Chinese market is a great appeal for Norway.
Amid the emergence of trade protectionism in Europe, if Norway can quickly reach a FTA with China, it will not only be beneficial for Beijing- Oslo ties but it can also help promote China’s collaboration with the whole region.
The northern European market is small but the countries there have their own competitive advantages. Therefore, northern European countries are in support of free trade, and share the consensus with China over promoting globalization. Northern Europe is one of the regions with the highest level of integration. It is home to organizations such as the Nordic Council, which can contribute greatly to cooperation between northern European countries and China.