Norway and China will speed up free trade talks

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Norway and China agree to speed up negotiations on a free trade agreement.

“A free trade agreement with China is a top priority for the government,” said Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H).

She met this week with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a foreign ministerial meeting in the ASEAN-South Asian cooperation organization.

Wang pointed out that China and Norway are both fighters for free trade. The negotiations on a free trade agreement should therefore be accelerated, according to a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Søreide believes it will be positive for the economy and employment in Norway with an agreement with China that leads to increased trade and increased investment.

“The aim is to negotiate a modern agreement that contains topics such as competition, public procurement and e-commerce, as well as traditional areas such as goods, services and investments,” says Søreide.

“We look forward to continuing the negotiations in September in Beijing,” she said.

The negotiations started already in 2008 but stopped due Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

In 2016, Norway and China signed an agreement on normalization so that negotiations could resume.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today