Diplomatic Pouch: With Mike Peters

The Swedish embassy has posted results of a business-climate survey of Swedish companies in China, and concludes that most are performing well, profitable (in 2010), expanding market share and plan to widen operations in China this year.

However, the embassy says a majority of the companies continue to be affected by trade barriers, particularly complicated import/export procedures, a lack of transparency by Chinese authorities, and intellectual property rights issues. The report says 166 of the 213 eligible Swedish companies responded to the survey.

The Swedish Arts Council is seeking applications for cooperation between cultural operators in Sweden and China. The deadline is Jan 30, with a second deadline for 2012 applications on Oct 10.

Organizations, institutions, government agencies and independent groups in Sweden who produce or arrange professional art and cultural activities are eligible. Each project should be constituted by a partner in Sweden and a partner in China, and the project should be formulated jointly by both partners. To ensure the mutual ownership of the project, the application needs to include a Memorandum of Understanding formulated by the partners.

The EU delegation in China wrapped up its nomination process on Jan 20 for candidates to feature in Europe & China: A Love Story. The film project intends to feature 10 micro movies, three to five minutes long, charting the relationships between Europeans and Chinese. Nominations describe how they met, in what context (through work, mutual interest, artistic passion, etc), how they communicated, the initial culture shocks, how both families reacted, how they overcame obstacles, and related challenges.

Stories involving famous Chinese or Europeans may have an advantage, the delegation's announcement says, "but the main criteria will be how interesting and unusual the love story is". The films are aimed at a Chinese audience and will be in Chinese or with Chinese subtitles.

Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, ended a three-day visit to China on Jan 17, announcing two joint scientific research investments aimed at producing breakthroughs in energy efficiency and medical science.

In the first, the Research Council's UK Energy Programme and the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are targeting smart grids to integrate large-scale renewable energy into the grids and to plan and operate efficient distribution. The British embassy says the UK energy program already has 24 joint research projects, including five that are jointly funded by the NSFC. The second initiative will fund up to 12 partnerships of British and Chinese scientists to assess ways in which joint research can encourage the development of stem cell therapies.

Norway's audio product manufacturer Electrocompaniet was awarded the Rogaland County's Innovation Prize for its sustained effort in bringing high-quality Norwegian products to new markets, particularly China, where the company has enjoyed its greatest growth. The Norwegian consulate general in Guangzhou, in collaboration with the Danish consulate general, sponsored an exhibition in Guangzhou last month to promote Scandinavian high-end audio products.

Embassy and consulate news can be sent to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn