Tal
Frukostmöte på svenska handelskammaren i Peking 13 april 2008
Ewa Björling, Handelsminister

Tal på engelska av Ewa Björling: "Sweden and China - Trading in a Globalised World"

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be here at this breakfast meeting with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Beijing.

Together with an important business delegation, and as a part of the on-going state visit, I'll be in China for a few days - and I'm on a tight and most effective, schedule. After this meeting I will be meeting my colleague, China's Minister of Commerce, Mr Chen Deming. We will discuss how to expand bilateral trade and investment, and the WTO/DDA. Your input is very important to me and I'm very interested in hearing about your experiences of doing business in China and your views regarding the current commercial developments.

We have witnessed a broadening and deepening of the relations with China - at the economic and political level; at the corporate level; in the field of research and innovation; and not least in the field of environmental protection and urban planning.
I believe that there are many opportunities to enhance the cooperation between our countries, for example, as China focuses more on sustainable development, the environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The state visit to Sweden last year by President Hu Jintao, the first Chinese state visit to Sweden ever, was a success. One outcome of that visit was a MoU on CSR, an important issue for my government. I will come back to this later

One of my first tasks as Minister for Trade was to launch the common brand platform for Sweden. This will form the basis of a more up-to-date and vigorous presentation of our country abroad.

A credible and attractive image of Sweden, and of the distinctive features of our country, will undoubtedly be an advantage for a company trying to establish itself internationally. This image is also a crucial competitive instrument when it comes to attracting other countries to Sweden, whether this involves tourism, manpower, researchers, students or investments.

Sweden is perceived as a dynamic country that in its endeavours to maintain a high level of development also takes people and the environment into account. A progressive country characterised by innovation, openness, caring and authenticity.

China today is our largest trading partner in Asia. Our bilateral trade amounted to SEK 66 billion in 2007. China's exports to Sweden are expanding rapidly - they have more than doubled since 2002, while Swedish exports to China are not developing at quite the same pace, however, Sweden is open to more exports from China. It is to the benefit of Swedish consumers, but also of our companies working with global supply chains. But we would also like to see increased Swedish exports to China. In order to achieve this, it is crucial to eliminate trade barriers. We have a particular interest in fostering a better protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, we are concerned about burdensome export and import procedures and the failure to open up government procurement and address non-tariff barriers. I must say that China has taken a number of important steps since its WTO accession, for example, by reducing its tariffs.

But more has to be done and it is important to work with China in these areas. Tomorrow I will discuss this, among other things, with the Chinese Minister of Commerce.

Increasing trade between our two countries is a priority during this visit.

Free trade is a cornerstone of Swedish foreign and business policy. It is also the basis of our domestic economic policy. Swedish prosperity is built on international trade and the ability of our companies to compete in markets all over the world. One of Sweden's most important tasks in the EU is to be a strong defender of free trade.

The best way of opening up trade globally is via multilateral agreements. It is primarily through the WTO that we can ensure open trade and stable rules, to the benefit of us all.

The Doha Round is Sweden's single most important trade priority. The negotiations in the WTO are at a critical stage. The Doha Round must be concluded with an ambitious result by the end of this year. We cannot afford to lose this historic opportunity.

If we do not play our cards wisely we run the risk of losing what now seems to be within reach. This would be a serious blow to the WTO, to the multilateral trading system as such, and to the global economy as a whole. This would be especially serious now, given the recent unrest on global markets. There have been positive signs during the last couple of months. It seems as if there is a genuine commitment from key players to make an extra effort. The aim is to achieve a breakthrough in the negotiations before the summer, and to conclude the round before the end of the year. Sweden will do its utmost to achieve this, and I am optimistic that it can be done.

China needs to take a more active role in the WTO negotiations and be a responsible stakeholder, as I will also underline to Mr Chen Deming. There are few countries in the world that would benefit more from a successful conclusion of the Doha Round than China. An ambitious result would also inject new energy into the long-term economic reform process to the benefit of citizens and companies.

We are today witnessing a changing economic balance in the world. Asia is growing rapidly and countries like China and India are at the forefront. With globalisation the global economy has become more and more integrated and more countries are joining in global trade. In China we have seen that increased openness (since the reform process) and liberalisation of trade has led to increased growth and prosperity. Trade has been the force driving China's impressive economic development.

It is important that Swedish companies do not lag behind when it comes to setting up business in this dynamic part of the world. And I know that there are more than 550 Swedish companies established in China today, a truly impressive figure.

But China does not seem to be following the traditional growth path. China is not just "the factory floor of the world", manufacturing textiles and clothing, toys and electronics. It also has all the world's telecom companies taking part in different joint ventures and a Chinese telecom industry that really matters - Chinese companies are already exporting 3G equipment.

Last year China produced more cars than Japan. China can't only compete in low-cost production. Europe still has knowledge, experience and advanced technology of great interest to China, and of great importance to China's economic development. But China is deepening its investment in research and development and moving into higher-cost production. China may become a world leader in some fields of R&D. China is also on its way to becoming a major global investor, primarily to get better access to new technology and secure control over natural resources.

As a growing supplier of the world's exports, with a massive consumer market and as an important global investor, China has a major role to play in shaping globalisation. Globalisation offers new opportunities for trade and investment across borders. For governments, as well as for business, there are many new challenges involved, such as environmental impact, corruption or core labour standards. Today there is widespread recognition that there is a clear business case for behaving responsibly and setting good examples.

Many companies see the implementation of business codes and practices not as short-term costs, but as long-term investments.

The commitment to enhance and strengthen our co-operation with China in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility is important to my government. We are now on our way to following up on the bilateral agreement that was signed during President Hu's state visit to Sweden. Together with the Prime Minister, I will attend a Chinese-Swedish High-level Roundtable concerning CSR later on today. I will inaugurate a joint Chinese-Swedish website on CSR cooperation together with Chinese Minister of Commerce Mr Chen Deming.

It is of importance to understand that CSR is, and rightly so, business-owned and business-driven. For Sweden, promotion of CSR is also an important link between two cornerstones of Swedish policy: an open trade policy and a foreign and development policy that strongly emphasises the importance of human rights and sustainable development.

This link between free trade, human rights and sustainable development is also important in the field of export financing.
Sweden wants to establish a level playing field in the area of export financing and we hope that China will accept the OECD-rules on export financing (OECD Arrangement on officially supported export credits) and the common rules regarding anti-corruption, environment and sustainable lending.

Addressing climate change is of the highest priority for the Swedish Government. All countries must contribute to the creation of an international framework that benefits us all, but it is not a government-to-government affair only. It also involves the entire global society. And companies have a major role to play.

Sweden has recently developed the concept "Sustainable City" further. To emphasize the interdependence between all different urban sectors we have given the concept the new name "SymbioCity". The aim is to show how Swedish companies can contribute to world-leading technical solutions and applications in urban infrastructure sectors, such as waste, water and sewage, transport, energy and the integration and interaction between the different sectors. Some more than 700 companies are currently involved in the SymbioCity-concept.

Innovation has long been one of Sweden's strongest competitive advantages, and Sweden is currently the most innovative country within the EU. This is why I believe that Swedish companies have a unique opportunity to find a profitable niche in for example creating climate-friendly products. Sweden has a strong position with regard to green technology - a sector in which the opportunities for international growth have, in recent years, attracted increasing attention in pace with the climate debate, more stringent environmental requirements and rising energy prices. One area in which Sweden stands particularly strong is systems expertise in the SymbioCity-concept. In this way, Sweden can also help to launch environmentally friendly and energy-efficient solutions that can be used in countries' development strategies, helping countries to make better use of their own resources. Another aspect is water and air cleaning technologies that improve the environment. At the Expo2010 world exhibition in Shanghai, Sweden will also have excellent opportunities to present itself and its environmental expertise, which is world-leading in many respects. I recommend you all to visit the website, www.symbiocity.se.

But it is not only about technology. Sweden can also contribute institutional experiences and best practices in environmental protection legislation and economic regulatory incentives, derived from decades of environmental efforts.

To further strengthen the co-operation between Sweden and China within this area, the Swedish Government, through our embassy in Beijing, recently created a new centre for environmental technology, CENTEC, which aims to promote the use of Swedish environmental technology in China and to introduce Swedish companies to the Chinese market.

Bearing in mind the rapid global urbanisation, all the mega cities here in China and the environmental problems related to this development I feel certain that there are lots of opportunities for joint projects within this sector, to decrease emissions of all kinds.

Given my background - as a researcher, I would also like to say something about research and development. R&D is of rapidly growing importance in our bilateral relations. Last October a huge Chinese-Swedish Science Week was held here in Beijing.

The presidents of all major Swedish research foundations and universities were present. A rapid expansion of our co-operation is foreseen, especially in the fields of environment, energy and climate, the next generation of mobile communication and networks, material sciences, biomedicine and public health and health care systems.

Globalisation offers an array of opportunities as well as challenges, and so does the Chinese market. I am now interested in hearing what you have to say about how we can help Swedish companies enhance their partnership with China.

Thank you!