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.
