Denmark and China celebrate 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations

Denmark looks to China's 13th Five-Year Plan(2016-2020) on sustainability, as sustainability is the most important theme that connects Denmark and China, said Friis Arne Petersen, Danish Ambassador to China.

"Chinese leaders have now really understood the concept of sustainability, not just renewable energy such as wind, solar, and bio, but also making agriculture, industry, housing and urbanization sustainable," Petersen said while addressing the media at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.

"So the whole concept what you leaders now call constructing ecological civilization is probably the most overarching theme that connects Denmark and China. We will most likely see the 13th five-year plan addressing these exact issues in the most ambitious way we have ever seen China attempt."

State leaders from Denmark and China celebrated the 65th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations with an agriculture and sustainability-themed seminar and a gala dinner in Beijing on Monday.

"Denmark was one of the very first Western countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. This great foresight has served our ties with China very well. We are also the only country in the Western world that has had an unbroken diplomatic presence in China since 1908, so this celebration marks the long friendship between us," Petersen said.

Petersen added that the bilateral relationship has progressed tremendously, and Danish private companies and institutions have full-fledged engagement in this Sino-Danish partnership for mutual benefit among the European countries.

"Denmark is one of the largest exporters to China in terms of trading figures per capita, as well as the largest investor in China per capita. This makes Denmark the most China-oriented economy in Europe together with the Netherlands and Germany," he added.

In the agriculture and sustainability-themed seminar in the afternoon, Danish and Chinese companies including Kopenhagen Fur, Kjeldsens and Husheng Agriculture, have shared their best practices in terms of bringing Danish organic technology into China. They also had an exhibition booth on site where their products and services were showcased.

Today, the bilateral trade in goods stands at more than 60 billion DKK ($ 9 billion), and almost as much in services. Denmark's exports to China amount to more than 57 billion DKK, making China its largest trading partner and export market in Asia. Denmark has also experienced a growth rate of more than 44 percent in its exportation of goods to mainland China from 2011 to 2014.

In recent years, Denmark and China have seen a growing number of areas of cooperation like social affairs, legal affairs, anti-corruption, foreign policy and defense.

During the gala dinner, performers from the Music Confucius Institute of the Royal Danish Academy of Music had a joint performance with Chinese musicians. A ballet performance was orchestrated by the Royal Danish Ballet School and the Beijing Dance Academy.