From February 15th to 18th, Ambassador Hou Yue visited the city of Bergen and met with County Mayor of Vestland Mr. Jon Askeland, City Mayor of Bergen Ms. Linn Kristin Engø, Rector of the University of Bergen Ms. Margareth Hagen, Director of Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center Mr. Tore Furevik and Director of Kode Museum Mr. Petter Snare, held a discussion with Administrative Director of Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ms. Monica Mæland as well as its major member companies, and visited the Faculty of Law of the University of Bergen and Amalie Skram High School. The relevant sides exchanged views on strengthening exchanges and cooperation and enhancing people-to-people friendship between China and Norway at the local level.

The Norwegian side warmly welcomed Ambassador Hou's visit, and said that Bergen city and Vestland county cherish cooperation and hold extensive and in-depth contacts with China, and the two sides have achieved fruitful practical cooperation in various fields. The region has strengths in both traditional and emerging sectors and is currently actively engaged in green transition. Norway attaches great importance to the Chinese market and technology, and is willing to learn more about the demands from both sides. It is inspiring to see China's victory over the pandemic and its rapid economic and social recovery. The common expectation is to restart exchanges in various fields as soon as possible, and expand the mutually beneficial cooperation.

Ambassador Hou said that Bergen city and Vestland county are important centers of commerce and trade in Norway characterized by innovation and energy, and stand at the forefront of cooperation with China. Both China and Norway advocate multilateralism, adhere to the principles of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and are committed to promoting global stability, prosperity, and common development. The two sides share many common interests in this regard. Friends from Bergen and Vestland are warmly welcome to visit China. We hope that the two sides will work together to strengthen cooperation in areas such as climate change and sustainable development, jointly promote trade liberalization and investment facilitation, and at the same time expand exchanges in the field of people-to-people and cultural exchanges to continuously enhance mutual understanding, and expand people-to-people bonds. The Chinese Embassy in Norway will continue to provide help and support to promote Bergen city and Vestland county’s cooperation with China.

During the visit, Ambassador Hou also visited local Chinese students, overseas Chinese as well as representatives of Chinese-funded enterprises, and attended the Bergen Chinese New Year Gala to extend best wishes for the Chinese New Year.