News brief
Danish Foreign Minister visits China
D
anish Foreign Minister ccc met on the evening of 26 November his Chinese host and counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi for a working dinner. It is the first time in three years that a Danish Foreign Minister has visited China and despite China’s strict covid-19 restrictions, the Ministers held a physical meeting at a luxury resort near the city of Hangzhou, south of Shanghai, TV 2’s China correspondent Christina Boutrup reported. Jeppe Kofod’s visit to China was announced only a week prior while he was on his Asia Tour visiting Indonesia and Japan and according to Christina Boutrup, there are several reasons why a meeting now was important. Among other things, Denmark and China’s strategic collaboration in sectors such as medicine, food, and the green area have just expired and it’s important to make a new one for the period 2021-2024. 16 ScandAsia • December 2021
Moreover, she says that China is in the process of its green transition and a goal has been set to be CO2-neutral by 2060, and to achieve that goal, they need some of the advanced solutions Denmark has. “China is the countr y in the world that invests the most in green technologies. But Denmark still has some very specific areas, such as water purification and district heating systems, where Danish companies are at the forefront,” she says. In addition, China has discovered that when important decisions have to be made in Greenland about raw materials or foreign labor, Denmark is often involved. Their interests in the Arctic go through Denmark, Christina Boutrup explains. During the visit, as many as five bilateral agreements on climate, energy, and environmental cooperation were prepared to be signed. A key point prior to the trip was for the minister to express his
concern for the conditions for Danish companies operating in China. “The oppor tunities for increased commercial cooperation are great, but Danish and European companies are also experiencing increased challenges. The Foreign Minister will therefore raise the concerns with the Chinese Foreign Minister and the Chinese Minister of Trade,” thye statement said. Jeppe Kofoed had to fly directly from Japan to Hangzhou to be placed in a closed covid-19 bubble.
