Edited by Asiautos Auto Part
China is Norway's largest trading partner in Asia.
On the evening of the 10th, in a supermarket in Shanghai's East Hongqiao Center, a tall Norway uncle wearing a blue apron and holding a wooden plate sincerely invited everyone to taste Norway seafood sashimi, and asked with concern from time to time, "How does it taste?" ”
This hard-working "salesman" is actually Norway Prime Minister Støre, who is on an official visit to China. On the evening of the 10th, he had just arrived in Shanghai on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, when Shanghai was experiencing a heavy rainstorm and his suit was slightly wet, but this did not prevent him from rushing to the supermarket to promote Norway seafood.
He said at the scene that the seafood industry has become Norway's second largest export industry after the oil and gas industry, and Norway hopes to increase the export of Chinese seafood and enhance the importance of seafood in the diet of the Chinese people.
Sigmund Bjørgo, director of the Norway Seafood Council in China, also told CBN that he expects Norway's salmon sales in the Chinese market to increase by another 8% to 10% this year.
Of course, this "Norway salesman" wants to sell much more than seafood. According to Xinhua News Agency, Stöhler said during his visit to China that Norway looks forward to expanding cooperation with China, especially in the fields of green development, climate change, maritime shipping, agriculture, fishery and fisheries, new energy vehicles, and artificial intelligence.
Norway seafood
Norway is the world's second largest exporter of seafood after China. Støre said on the 10th that he was pleased to see the growing exports of Norway's seafood to China. At the same time, he hopes that Norway companies and Chinese partners will work together to shorten the logistics time in the middle of the journey, so that Chinese consumers can taste fresher salmon and other Norway seafood.
During his visit to China, Stöler constantly emphasized Norway's connection to the sea. For thousands of years, Norway's ancestors relied on fishing off the coast, and although in the 60s Norway discovered a new treasure in the ocean - oil and gas resources, Norway did not forget their roots and still attached great importance to fishing and aquaculture.
China is the most important market for Norway's seafood outside the EU, accounting for 13% of total exports. In terms of overall trade, China is Norway's largest trading partner in Asia and the third largest trading partner globally after the European Union and United States.
Briefing the Prime Minister on the Chinese market was Bi Siming, director of Norway Seafood Council in China, who served as China director from 2011 to 2018 and returned to China after a six-year hiatus. In an exclusive interview with the first financial reporter, he said with a sigh that China's seafood market has undergone tremendous changes in the past six years.
He further explained that seafood exports from Norway to China have doubled, while salmon sales have tripled. "When I look at and compare the data, I can hardly believe my eyes, this [Chinese market] is really a prosperous and promising market," he says with a smile. ”
Bi Siming said that he did notice that there was some downward pressure on consumption in the Chinese market, but he remained optimistic about the future. Consumers are becoming more cautious when spending money, but they are still willing to treat themselves to quality food and are more concerned about their health, he said.
At present, China's per capita salmon consumption is still low at only 0.08 kg/person, while other Asian countries are more than ten times this figure: Korea's per capita consumption is 0.73 kg/person, and Singapore's per capita consumption is 1.83 kg/person.
"With the expansion of the consumer base and the strengthening of the pursuit of healthy and delicious food concepts, we believe that the growth potential of salmon consumption demand in China is huge." Bi Siming said.
He further explained that about 85% of Norway's salmon in China is currently consumed in the restaurant industry, which is still the main channel for everyone to contact salmon, but in recent years the retail channel has also emerged, accounting for about 15% of sales, and will continue to grow.
In addition, Bi Siming revealed that Norway mackerel also has good sales in the Chinese market. In Chinese Japanese restaurants, many mackerel (mackerel) used for teppanyaki are actually exported from Norway.
Previously, Kjetil Sperre, commercial director of Norway's Sperre Brothers, also told the first financial reporter that most of the mackerel exported by their company to China was re-export trade processing, and with the expansion of China's consumer market, China will also become an important consumption destination as Japan and South Korea.
Green transition
After selling Norway's seafood, Steller got up early on September 11 and traveled to Haimen District, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, to attend the naming ceremony of the car carrier built by a Chinese shipbuilding company and delivered to a Norway shipping company, to promote another Norgen marine-related industry, the maritime industry.
Støre introduced that the shipbuilding industry in Norway has a long history and accumulated rich experience. "China's shipbuilding industry already accounts for more than half of the world's total, and Norway companies can provide technical support, and the complementary advantages of both sides can achieve mutual benefit and win-win results." He said.
Since the 19th century, Norway has been one of the world's leading shipping (maritime transport) countries. Norway is a maritime powerhouse with a relatively complete maritime cluster, including leading shipping companies and shipyards, offshore equipment manufacturers and offshore service providers in all areas of the world maritime market, and is a world leader in the production of special vessels and deep-sea vessels.
According to reports, Stöhler also said that China has developed rapidly in the field of new energy technologies in recent years, including solar panels, electric vehicles and other products have extensive influence.
He said that Norway has always been committed to upholding the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, and is willing to strengthen practical cooperation with China in areas such as green transformation. During the visit, China and Norway signed a joint statement on establishing a dialogue on green transition.
The electrification of China's automotive industry started early and has now become an important force leading the green transformation. The EU announced that it would vote on whether to impose temporary tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in October as planned, in response to which Stöhler said on the evening of the 11th that Norway is not a member of the European Union, has no common trade policy with the EU, and Norway does not have too much automotive industry, so Norway will not impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. At the same time, he suggested that China could also use this opportunity to respond to the EU's concerns.
Norway is the incision for many Chinese electric vehicles to enter Europe. Despite being an oil powerhouse, Norway pays more attention to climate change and environmental protection. Statistics released by the Norway Road Federation show that electric vehicles in Norway will account for 82.4% of new car sales in 2023, and electric vehicles will continue to dominate the Norway new car market, with Chinese car brands such as MG, Polestar, and BYD entering the top 20 in sales.
Norway's green transformation is at the forefront of Europe, and in 2016, Norway proposed to "remove from the shelves" of fuel vehicles in the new car market by 2025, except for heavy-duty vehicles, and achieve 100% of new energy vehicle sales. In order to achieve this goal, in recent years, Norway governments at all levels have successively introduced a series of measures to provide preferential measures for new energy vehicles such as electric vehicles from sales, driving, parking, charging and other links, so as to encourage consumers to buy new energy vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
On the evening of the 11th, before leaving Shanghai at the end of his visit to China, Stöler revealed that this was the first time he had returned to Shanghai in nearly 30 years. In his speech at Fudan University on the afternoon of the 11th, Stöhler recalled that he visited China for the first time as a member of the Norway delegation in 1995 and witnessed the establishment of the Nordic Center of Fudan University.
He concluded that the visit coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Norway and China, and he saw a more confident China, with different cultures and backgrounds between Norway and China. He was very appreciative of the fact that the two sides were able to come together to solve problems of common concern and make great progress.
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