Norway and China met on Monday on the sidelines of an Asia-Europe summit, marking their first official contact since a Chinese dissident was given the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian prime minister said.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told public broadcaster NRK that he had held a brief meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao while attending the summit in Laos.
Relations cooled between the two countries after the pro-democracy dissident Liu Xiaobo, who Beijing considers a “criminal”, was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Nobel committee, which is independent of the government though its members are chosen by the Norwegian parliament, angered China which broke off all high-level contact with Norway.
In Laos, Stoltenberg said he had thanked the Chinese premier for the inclusion of Norway, along with Switzerland and Bangladesh, in the Asia-Europe Meeting.
“It is the first time that Norway has joined this meeting place, and so it’s natural to say thank you for the support that has made this possible,” he said.
