Norway urged to mend ties

Following Oslo's agreement to support China's application for permanent observer status to the Arctic Council, Beijing on Tuesday urged Norway again to take concrete measures to improve China-Norway ties.

Observers were optimistic that the two countries can improve relations in the future.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a daily news briefing that China hopes Norway will take concrete steps to create conditions for improving bilateral ties and China expects Norway to respect China's core concerns.