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Embassy of China in Norway

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Scandinavian unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) Read More

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Address:	Tuengen Allé 2B, 0244 Oslo
Tel:	+47 2249 2052
Fax:	+47 2292 1978
Email:	webmaster@chinese-embassy.no
Website:	Website

History

The relations between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Norway maintained a sound momentum of development from January to October 2010. After 8 October, bilateral relations suffered a serious setback due to the awarding of Nobel Peace Prize.

High-level exchange of visits was close. From 10 to 13 June, He Guoqiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, visited Norway. He had talks or meetings with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Per-Kristian Foss and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stǿre. From 8 to 11 September, Liu Qi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, visited Norway. From 14 to 17 June, Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate Cao Jianming visited Norway.

From 29 to 30 May, Crown Prince Haakon came to China to attend the activities of the National Pavilion Day of Norway at the Shanghai World Expo. General Secretary of Labor Party Raymond Johanson led the first Labor Party delegation to pay an official visit to China. The Norwegian government donated 2 million krona (US$330,000) to the quake-hit areas in Yushu, Qinghai Province.

The two foreign ministries maintained close communication and coordination. From 30 to 31 August, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stǿre visited China. During the visit, he met with Vice President Xi Jinping and held talks with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. In June, Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying went to Norway for bilateral political consultation. The 13th Sino-Norwegian Roundtable on the Rule of Law and Human Rights and the second round of the Sino-Norwegian Bilateral Dialogue on Arctic Issues were held in Beijing respectively. In July, Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin visited Norway for the activities of the High North Study Tour. In August, Special Representative of the Chinese government on Darfur Liu Guijin visited Norway.

Economic cooperation and trade maintained a sound momentum and two-way investment was more active. The 7th and 8th rounds of the negotiations on China-Norway Free Trade Agreement proceeded well. China remained Norway's largest trading partner in Asia. In spite of the impact of the financial crisis, two-way trade grew steadily. China's investment in Norway yielded remarkable results. The SinoChem Group acquired part of the equities of the Peregrino Oilfield of Statoil in the offshore of Brasil. China National Chemical Corporation acquired entire equities of Elkem ASA of Orkla ASA. Hainan Airlines Group of China acquired part of the equities of the Global Tender Barges company of Norway.

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges were dynamic. The third Chinese Culture Festival was held successfully in Norway. Beijing People's Art Theatre sent a delegation to the Ibsen Festival in Norway, and its drama, the Chinese version of the Master Builder, was warmly received. Norway's exhibition at the Shanghai World Expo was a success and its national pavilion received over 3 million visitors.

Exchanges were frequent in science, technology, education, fishery and military affairs. The following Chinese officials visited Norway respectively: President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Lu Yongxiang, Executive Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee He Yiting, Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping, Vice Minister of Housing and Urban Construction Chen Dawei, Vice Minister of State Administration of Work Safety Liang Jiakun, Vice Minister of State Forestry Administration Zhu Lieke, Vice Minister of State Administration of Sport Xiao Tian, and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the PLA Lieutenant General Sun Jianguo.

Norwegian officials who visited China included: Minister of Finance Sigbjon Johnsen, Minister of Trade and Industry Trond Giske, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen, Minister of Educaiton Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Labor Hanne Bjursrom, Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt, Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Lisbeth Berg-Hansen and Chief of Staff Royal Norwegian Navy Rear Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen. The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Standing Committee on Business and Industry of the Norwegian Parliament and the Parliamentary Group of Norwegian Christian Democratic Party sent delegations to China.

Exchanges between local governments were dynamic. Zhejiang Province signed an agreement on establishing sister-province relations with Nordland of Norway. Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee Zhao Hongzhu, Governor of Hubei Province Li Hongzhong, Vice Secretary of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee Yu Xun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee Wu Yongwen, Executive Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan People's Congress Thubten Ngawang and Vice President of the Red Cross Society of China Wang Wei visited Norway. Governor of Nordland Odd Eriksen and Mayor of Oslo Stian Berger Rosland visited China successively.

The issue of the Nobel Peace Prize seriously undermined China-Norway relations. On 8 October, the Norwegian Nobel Commitee, despite repeated representations of the Chinese side, insisted on granting the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced on charge of subversion of the state and was serving his term in prison. The prime minister and the foreign minister of Norway expressed their support to awarding such a prize and attended the prize-awarding ceremony. China-Norway relations suffered a serious setback as a result.