A royal visit brings new business deals and plenty of opportunities across two continents. The China-Norway business summit coincides with a visit by Norwegian King Harald V and Queen Sonja to China. The Beijing summit promises enhanced cooperation under the theme of "pioneering sustainable solutions".

Norway's royal couple is leading the nation's largest-ever business delegation to China. In the face of the current global trade tension, the 81-year-old king's keynote speech inspired business leaders of both sides.

"We must further develop our international partnership while also safeguarding the multilateral trading systems and benefits that have been brought to us. I feel confident about the combined efforts of our companies, governments and institutions. All representatives today will enable us to tackle our common challenges to develop new and sustainable partnerships," said Norwegian King Harald V.

24 new business agreements were signed at Tuesday's summit, with areas of cooperation running deep and wide. For the first time, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is joining hands with Konsberg, a Norwegian hi-tech enterprise, to digitalize the energy sector.

"Norway is doing very well in digital transformation and related services. So combining Alibaba's cloud computing with Konsberg's digital systems will help provide better services, not just for energy companies in China but all of Asia and the Pacific region," said Simon Hu, president of Alibaba Cloud.

"During a weekend in China, we meet with many of the large companies but also potential partners from other areas. A set-up like this where the delegation comes from the Norwegian side and meets with the Chinese delegation is a very good set-up for future cooperation," said Hege Skryseth, President of Kongsberg Digital.

Collaboration in new energy and green initiatives are two of Norway's main focuses. As the first stop of their state visit to China, the King and Queen went to one of the world's largest solar panels, which is in northwest China's Gansu Province.

A bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) is also in the pipeline. Last month, the two nations wrapped up their latest round of FTA talks. That's something both Chinese and Norwegian officials pin great hope on.

"As a mature open-market economy along the Atlantic Coast, Norway is a key partner for China to inter-connect with Europe. We welcome Norwegian companies to participate in China's first import expo in Shanghai this November and hope both sides can explore new growth points in manufacturing, clean energy and technology," said Gu Shengzu, vice chairman of the 13th National Committee, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The Norwegian minister of trade and industry also said the bilateral FTA is symbolic of the ongoing trade conflicts globally.   

Together with the royal couple, a record 340 representatives from 150 Norwegian companies are visiting China, making the bilateral business possibilities here tremendous.