Western Norway is the Norwegian region most central in the industries of oil, gas, renewable energy, the maritime industry and seafood. These areas of co-operation were in focus when The Regional Council for Western Norway visited China with as many as 41 politicians, representatives from regional business organizations and the main labour and enterprise organizations from four Norwegian west coast counties. The delegation included three County Governors and three Vise Governors.
Recently the group went to Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo and Guangzhou. They met with Innovation Norway in Beijing, with the Norwegian companies Wikborg Rein, DnB, Ekornes and DNV in Shanghai, visited Donghai Bridge Offshore Wind Park outside Shanghai and the Nordic Industrial Park in Ningbo. In Guangzhou they visited Prosperous Food Manufacturing Co. which distributes Norwegian salmon, as well as Yuexin Shipyard which builds ships designed by the Norwegian company Havyard. The group found the programme very interesting and informative of China’s new situation domestically and internationally. In addition, cultural visits including Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, the Great Wall, Shanghai EXPO and the new Guangzhou Opera House were among the highlights of the trip.
In Guangzhou, the Governor of Guangdong Huang Huahua and Governor of Rogaland Tom Tvedt furthered the establishment of sister province relations by signing a second agreement of cooperation.
The Regional Council for Western Norway is an organization for co-operation between the County Councils in the four Counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal along the North Sea coast. The industries of this region are to a large degree complementary with important areas of cooperation between China and Norway, especially in the maritime sector, oil, gas and renewable energy. The Regional Council of Western Norway made this trip to learn about the developments in China, the experiences of established Norwegian businesses in China and to identify areas of further cooperation.
