Norway and China can look back upon a long relationship. The first Norwegian ship arrived in Shanghai in 1846. Five years later the Union of Sweden and Norway established a vice consulate in Shanghai, and in the 1860s the first Norwegian businessmen settled in Shanghai. Furthermore, Norway was among the very first countries to establish formal relations with the People s Republic of China some fifty years ago. In the last ten to fifteen years, we have seen a strong growth in our economic relations, both in trade in goods and services, as well as in terms of investments and joint ventures.
China is today our second largest trading partner in Asia.
We need to build upon what has already been achieved. At the same time we need to look for new opportunities in order to deepen and broaden our relations into new areas of cooperation. In particular, we would like to see a strengthening of our relations in the maritime sector, and we want to explore new opportunities in the information and communications sector. We would also like to see more joint ventures and investments. Furthermore, we want to support the dialogue that has been established related to industrial matters and labour relations.