After six frozen years, ties between China and Norway thawed on Monday, demonstrating that mutual respect is the cornerstone of bilateral ties.
In a statement issued during the visit of Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, Norway reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China policy and respect for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As one of the first Western countries to have recognized and established diplomatic ties with China, Norway had taken the lead in relations with China until 2010, when the Norwegian Nobel committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese criminal convicted of inciting subversion of state power in 2009.
The Norwegian government supported the Nobel Committee's eccentric decision and sour relations were the result. The setback impeded trade and people-to-people exchange, contrary to the interests of the two peoples.
History proves that, for countries with different national conditions and social systems, mutual respect, equality and accommodation for each other's core interests are essential to sustainable and healthy relations.
The six-year diplomatic hiatus also proved to the world that undermining China's core interests, interference in China's internal affairs or infringing upon China's judicial sovereignty has consequences.
Recognizing the damage done, Norway has worked hard to bring relations back on an even keel. Positive remarks by both sides on Monday showed that a new chapter had opened.
In fact, the two countries had cooperated quite well in a wide range of areas before the trouble broke out. The eighth round of talks on a free trade agreement concluded in September 2010, three months before the Nobel fracas.
During this visit, China and Norway have again recognized that they share broad common interests and have great potential for cooperation in many fields, such as trade, fisheries, finance, offshore oil and gas exploitation and environmental protection.
In normalizing their relationship, China and Norway have agreed to resume free trade negotiations and to promote trade and investment.
From this perspective, better China-Norway relations benefit both countries, and are good for China-Europe ties and global trade in general.
