Greenland's Minister for Statehood and Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt is paying a week-long visit to China. On Monday, Motzfeldt officially opened Greenland's Representation in Beijing, and emphasized that the Greenland government has a long-standing friendship with China. During her stay, Motzfeldt has met with officials from the foreign ministry and commerce ministry. The two sides have vowed to enhance cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, tourism, and the Arctic. She also traveled to the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao and attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 China Fisheries and Seafood Expo. During a one-on-one interview with our reporter You Yang, Motzfeldt shares her expectations for the development of China-Greenland ties. 

YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "Congratulations on the opening of Greenland's representation in Beijing. What does it signify for bilateral relations between China and Greenland?"

VIVIAN MOTZFELDT Greenland's Minister for Statehood and Foreign Affairs "It's very important for us to develop our relationship between Greenland and China. In order to develop cooperation, therefore we have come here in order to open the representation. The representation is here to facilitate meetings between Greenland and China, enhancing our people-to-people exchanges and letting us get closer. It will also work on facilitating trade between us."

YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "How will you comment on the cooperation between China and Greenland in terms of economy, trade, tourism and culture?"

VIVIAN MOTZFELDT Greenland's Minister for Statehood and Foreign Affairs "We have had very good meetings here in Beijing with our Chinese counterparts. They have shown us lots of potential cooperation between us. So I think the cooperation prospect between us is very positive. And next to that, we have also had talks on tourism. We hope to put joint efforts in strengthening our cooperation in tourism. That is also one of the purposes of my visit as well."

YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "You are also travelling to the coastal city of Qingdao and will attend the opening ceremony of the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo. Why do you think this sector is important?"

VIVIAN MOTZFELDT Greenland's Minister for Statehood and Foreign Affairs "China is the most important market for us in Asia. Therefore, we are also going to Qingdao for the Seafood Expo. We are selling a lot of high quality fish products to China. And it is important for us to continue our trade in this sector and we are also going to meet with our trading partners there in Qingdao."

YOU YANG CGTN Reporter "In what areas do you see potential for increased engagements between China and Greenland?"

VIVIAN MOTZFELDT Greenland's Minister for Statehood and Foreign Affairs "We had good meetings with our Chinese counterpart in Beijing. Thus, we do have reason to believe there are lots of potentials for us to carry out more cooperation. Greenland is in the far north, in the Arctic. It's the biggest island in the world. We have rich natural resources and beautiful scenery. And we have very friendly people. One thing I would like also to mention in our tourism sector is that we have really good food. Thus we do hope to develop our tourism industry in the Chinese market."