Diplomatic Pouch

Swedish Ambassador Lars Freden was in Tianjin on Feb 10 for the "inauguration ceremony" of the 10th Ikea store in China. The first Ikea store in the country opened in Shanghai in 1998, and the furniture company plans to have 17 stores in China by 2015.

At the ceremony, Ikea representatives emphasized their "commitment to energy efficiency and wider use of renewable energy", and explained how the store in Tianjin is using geothermal energy. The company has undertaken to reduce energy consumption per square meter of commercial space by at least 20 percent by 2020 and to work to surpass a European Commission renewable energy target of 20 percent. As a symbol of this and as a part of the ceremony, the ambassador planted a tree together with Ren Xuefeng, the vice-mayor of Tianjin; Shang Delai, Party secretary of the Dongli district committee; and Gillian Drakeford, the retail manager of Ikea in China.

The embassy of Iceland in Beijing reports that Chinese students interested in studying language, history and literature in Reykjavik must apply for its government scholarships by March 1.

The nation's Ministry of Education, Science and Culture awards a number of scholarships every year to foreign students, and applications for the 2012-2012 academic year are now being taken. Decisions of the evaluation committee will be announced to the candidates in April.

Scandinavian Airlines will team up with Danish educational exchange programs to find "top talent among Chinese engineering students", the Danish embassy website says. The five competition winners will be flown to Copenhagen to get experience studying, living and career opportunities in Denmark.

The four-day sponsored program is part of the Scandinavian Airlines opening of its new direct route from Shanghai to Copenhagen.

The winners will visit Technical University of Denmark and Aalborg University Copenhagen to experience engineering studies in the capital. The participants will also meet Danish companies with departments in China to learn about career opportunities with them.

The first China-UK Better Business Dialogue was opened this week by British Ambassador Sebastian Wood and chaired by Wang Liwei of the Charitarian Group.

"The pursuit of prosperity and respect for people's rights are not mutually exclusive," Wood said on Tuesday.

Delegates from the business world included representatives of leading Chinese, British and multinational companies such as Unilever, Shenhua Group, Rolls-Royce, Taiaitai Group, Tesco, Zhangxun Group, China Communication and Construction Group, Shandong Tongya Group and Bin Chen Bus Advertising Group.

A student granted a place of study in a Finnish educational institute may now submit an application for a residence permit electronically online, the embassy in Beijing has announced.

Applicants will still need to visit a Finnish embassy closest to their place of residence in person to verify their identity and show the original copies of any appendices to their application.

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