Chinese consumers are leading the market trend: Norwegian embassy commercial counselor
By Zhang Tingting
04:10

Norway is traditionally oriented toward the European market but China has been rising in importance, Rolf Almklov, commercial counselor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing, has said.

In fact, China is the most important country for Norway in terms of bilateral trade in Asia, he said. In 2019, trade between the two countries reached $13 billion.

As Chinese people's living conditions keep improving, and more consumers start to seek healthier and better-quality products, Norway has discovered new trade opportunities with China, such as its premium-quality health products.

China has recently set up a development policy called "dual circulation." Almklov said it is the right way to develop the market, and he is not concerned about any potential disadvantages for Norwegian companies. Instead, he thinks it is also going to offer opportunities to them and other foreign businesses, as long as they can provide quality products and services that customers need and they should not be afraid of competition from Chinese brands.

He said China and Norway have a trade relationship that is complementary and they would very much like to develop it further.

There is a good future for bilateral trade, he continued, and Norwegian businesses hope to learn from Chinese consumers about what they want to have. In doing so, it will also help Norwegian businesses become stronger in other markets, because Chinese consumers are leading in many sectors on what future products consumers want.