Sweden, Denmark enthusiastic about co-op with China

Sweden and Denmark, two EU member countries in the Nordic region, are showing an enthusiasm about economic cooperation with China, which was unseen before the chronic debt crisis hit the eurozone.

Although Sweden and Denmark do not fall in the eurozone as Finland does, all the three economies have been adversely affected as a result of their traditional markets in the eurozone suffering from the debt crisis.

Unlike their oil-rich neighbor Norway, Sweden and Denmark are in a much favorable position to expand economic cooperation with China.

The acquisition by Geely, a Chinese car manufacturer, of the Volvo car factory in Sweden, is no more a new story. Neither is it any news that China Development Bank and the Swedish side have agreed on cooperation in infrastructure, mineral resources and wind power.

Most of the 500 or so Swedish companies in China are performing well and plan to invest more in China, according to a report by the Swedish Chambers of Commerce and the Swedish Trade Council.

Sweden, like Denmark, has identified new energy as one of the most promising areas of Sweden-China cooperation.

Swedish government agencies for energy, innovation and export are making greater efforts than ever in organizing trade fairs, exhibitions, conferences and visits to promote cooperation with China.

In Stockholm earlier this year, a new platform -- the Nordic New Energy Partners Economic Association (NNEP) was set up by like-minded Swedish companies to accelerate cooperation with China in the new energy sector.

NNEP has launched a plan to introduce pilot projects for energy saving and emission reduction in some Chinese cities so that companies from both sides could establish contact and work together to apply new energy technologies.

"Through the new platform, there will be more Chinese companies seeking cooperation with Nordic companies," said Li Guangjun, an official at the Commerce Office of the Chinese embassy in Sweden.

Danish experts are of the view that China's rapid transition to a green economy will be a boon not only to the Chinese domestic market but also to the global economy.

Nis Hoeyrup Christensen, advisor on Chinese affairs at the Confederation of Danish Industry (CDI), said that a green transition in China's manufacturing model will have special relevance where it concerns production, "because that amounts to a lot of economic activity."

In China's greening process, coal-fired plants will be replaced with those run on renewable energy, while homes and offices with better insulation will be built to reduce power consumption and cut heating bills. In addition, alternative-fuel cars will run on roads.

Denmark and its Nordic neighbors, as the first-movers in the global green growth arena, have a good chance to benefit from China's rapid green transition.

"I believe a more sustainable growth in China can turn out to be an advantage to Danish companies because of the technologies and solutions we have developed in our effort to create a green economy," said the CDI chief Karsten Dybvad in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Taking advantage of Denmark's unique geological position, the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy placed its Global Innovation Center in 2010 in Silkeborg on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.

The center's director, Anders Rebsdorf, said, "We can add competence and reduce risk in a lot of decisions by having the innovation center in a place where we have a lot of experience in this field."

Genetics research in Denmark has been boosted since China's Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), a sequencing powerhouse, established its Europe headquarters in Copenhagen in this February.

BGI, a research institute strong in genomics and informatics, is using our technologies and the expertise available in Denmark. "It could be a perfect match," said the BGI executive director, Wang Jun.

China's elderly population, according to official data, is expected to rise to 221 million before 2015 from 178 million at the end of 2011.

"This means equipment for old people's homes and hospitals, and tools which makes life easier for the elderly and for those who work with them," said Christina Boutrup, author of "China Sweet and Sour," a book on Danish companies' experiences in China.

Danish companies hold a competitive edge as they can meet China's increasingly tighter environmental regulations, "even if they are more expensive," said Boutrup.

By maintaining good relations with China and engaging China in more and closer economic cooperation, Sweden and Denmark, two Nordic countries Chinese top leaders visited earlier this year, act like the early birds, who avail themselves of a better chance to catch worms.