30^th June 2025

Thank you, Chair.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the appointment of this important role as the TPR Chair. I would also like to join others to extend our warm welcome to the delegation of Norway led by State Secretary, Ms. Ragnhild Sjoner Syrstad to Geneva.

I would also like to thank the Government of Norway and the WTO Secretariat for preparing the comprehensive TPR reports and convening this meeting. Our thanks also go to Chair for your introduction and the Discussant, His Excellency Ambassador Mzukisi QOBO for your insightful and lively comments.

China commends the resilience and adaptability of Norway’s economy. Despite significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic during the review period, Norway achieved strong recovery by 2023 supported by strong and timely government policies, including substantial fiscal stimulus and increased public spending.

China also appreciates Norway’s notable efforts to promote green, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. We are impressed by the concrete policies and measures, such as placing “climate and nature” at the core of policy-making, setting ambitious emission reduction targets, and actively fostering nine green industrial sectors. In doing so, Norway exemplifies how a member can leverage its own endowments to achieve excellence through strategic vision, robust institutions, and an unwavering commitment to sustainability.

As a founding member of the WTO, Norway has been a strong advocate of free trade and a steadfast supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system. Faced with rising geopolitical tension and heightened trade turbulence, China shares the view that it is essential to preserve a predictable trading environment, maintain a robust rules-based trading system and remain open to trade to go forward. In this context, China appreciates Norway’s significant contributions to this organization and looks forward to Norway’s continuing the leading role in advancing WTO reform, by both improving the organization’s mechanism and updating its rulebook.

I would also take this opportunity to particularly express our thanks and give our commendations to Ambassador Ølberg’s personal contributions to this organization, as the head of Norway’s Mission, and especially under WTO hats, such as his service as the GC Chair last year. Particularly, we want to appreciate that he assumed the facilitator for WTO reform very recently. It’s the role which is very challenging but import and with high expectations of the whole membership. We also want to thank the Norwegian Government’s support in this regard, and also very encouraging statement this morning on the WTO reform.

Bilaterally, China and Norway have close economic and trade relations. China’s data indicates that in 2024 the trade volume between China and Norway rose by 31.1% compared to 2023, to 10.14 billion US dollars. Furthermore, both sides are working on a bilateral free trade agreement, and we believe a timely conclusion would benefit both sides and give strong support to free trade and multilateralism, to which both sides are firmly committed.

In the meantime, China notes with concern that some of Norway’s policies, like the Norwegian National Security Act, the Transparency Act and the Public Procurement Act, impose undue restrictions on foreign companies’ participation. Therefore, China hopes Norway could maintain its open economy and continue being in line with the spirit of the WTO, and avoid politicising economic and trade issues. We also expect Norway to continue to ensure a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory trading environment for foreign companies.

For the purpose of this review, China submitted questions regarding trade agreements and arrangements, investment regime, measures affecting production and trade, as well as export finance, insurance, and guarantees, etc. We thank their responses from Norway and received them this morning.

Finally, we wish Norway’s Trade Policy Review a full success.

Thank you, Chair.