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Message from Royal Norwegian Consulate

Norway and China have a long history, starting from January 7, 1950, when Norway recognised the People's Republic of China and was one of the first Western countries to do so.

Supported by:Discovery Reports

Norway and China have a long history, starting from January 7, 1950, when Norway recognised the People's Republic of China and was one of the first Western countries to do so.

Bilateral trade with China has increased substantially in the past 10 years. According to Statistics Norway, there has been a significant increase of total trade from 25.47 billion Norwegian krone (HK$22.7 billion) in 2005 to 73.79 billion krone in 2014, up nearly 190 per cent. When comparing between 2013 and 2014, there was an increase of 14.2 per cent in total trade of 64.60 billion krone. China is the largest trading partner of Norway in Asia.

Norway and Hong Kong have established close relations for many decades. Our cooperation lies in different areas including shipping, finance and cultural exchanges. Most of the famous Norwegian companies have established their offices in Hong Kong for their regional operations. As an international metropolis, Hong Kong has unique advantages in its strategic location with a sound legal system, productive workforce, attractive tax regime, world-class infrastructure and close ties with mainland China and Asia.

We believe that Norwegian companies will continue to regard Hong Kong as a base for doing business in mainland China, and in Asia, and that they will enjoy benefits and prosperity in the free and fair business climate here.

While Norway's exports to Hong Kong remain positive, with an 11 per cent increase compared with 2005, Hong Kong's exports to Norway have seen a decrease of 43 per cent in the 10-year figures from 2005 to 2014. However, the total trade between Norway and Hong Kong recorded an increase of 5 per cent or 2.55 billion krone in 2014 compared with the previous year of 2.43 billion krone.

The No 1 export category from Norway to Hong Kong was food and live animals, mainly Norwegian salmon. Its total export value was 942 million krone in 2014. For Hong Kong, its No 1 export category to Norway was miscellaneous manufactured articles totalling 422 million krone in 2014.

Norway's activities in Hong Kong have been increasing. We organised in Hong Kong the first "Norway Day" in April this year, an event jointly held with the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing and the Norwegian Consulate General in Guangzhou, with a shipping seminar during the day and a Norwegian seafood dinner at night.

We also held an Arctic photo exhibition in September entitled "Explore the Arctic - Past, Present and Future" at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

Norway will endeavour to improve bilateral relations with China and will further strengthen its presence in Hong Kong.

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