(Last update:2004/03/04)

I. Political Relations

The kingdom of Sweden recognized the People's Republic of China on 14th January 1950 and was the first western country to establish diplomatic relations with China on 9th May 1950. The two countries exchanged ambassadors in the same year. General Geng Biao was the first Chinese ambassador to Sweden.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Sino-Swedish relations have developed steadily. Bilateral exchanges and cooperation at various levels in the fields of politics, economy and culture have increased constantly and achieved remarkable results.

During the 1950s, Sweden supported consistently the restoration of China's legitimate seat in the UN.

Ministerial contacts between the two countries increased gradually in the 1960s and 1970s. Bilateral relations witnessed a rapid development in the 1980s. The King of Sweden, Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament paid visits to China successively and Chinese Premier, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) visited Sweden.

Since 1992, Sino-Swedish relations have developed continuously. There have been more frequent exchanges of high level visits and more exchanges and cooperation at various levels between various government departments, which have enhanced the mutual understanding and friendly relations between the two countries. The main Swedish visitors to China are: Vice Prime Minister Mr. Bengt Westberg (1993), Foreign Minister Ms. Lena Hjelm-Wallen (1995), Prime Minister Mr. Goran Persson (1996) and Vice Prime Minister Mona Sahlin (1995, also participated in the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing). Major visits to Sweden paid by the Chinese leaders are: Vice-Premier Tian Jiyun and Zhu Rongji (1992), Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen (1993), Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC Li Ruihuan (1994), Vice-Premier Li Lanqing (1995), Vice-Premier Zou Jiahua (1996), Vice-Premier Wu Banguo (1997), Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (1999). On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sweden in May 2000, the president of two sides exchanged congratulatory messages and the Swedish vice Prime Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen visited China.

In 2003, Mr. He Guoqiang, Member of CPCCC Political Bureau and head of CPCCC Organization Department hade a stopover at Sweden in July. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Winberg met with and hosted a banquet for He Guoqiang. Winberg told the Chinese guest that Sino-Swedish relations had a promising future. On September 11, Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was assassinated. Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing immediately sent a telegram to the Swedish government, expressing his deep condolence for her tragic death. In January 2004, the Swedish Justice Minister visited China.

II. Trade Relations and Economic-Technological Cooperation

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the economic and trade relations between Sweden and China have grown vigorously. The two countries signed the Inter-Governmental Trade Agreement in 1957. The trade volume between China and Sweden in 1957 reached US$ 31.87 million, 10 times that in 1950. The Chinese trade delegation led by the Foreign Trade Minister Lu Xuzhang visited Sweden in 1959. The Swedish company ATLAS held a mining equipment exhibition in Beijing in 1965, which was the first exhibition ever held by Swedish enterprises independently in China. In 1978 the trade volume between the two countries surpassed US$ 100 million for the first time.

Sweden and China set up the Mixed Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation at vice-ministerial level in 1979. Sweden adopted generalized preferential system (GPS) to China in 1980 and began to make direct investments in China and provide China Concessional loans in 1982. Sweden lifted quota restrictions on porcelain in 1985, and textile products and clothes in 1991. In 1988, a direct air route between Beijing and Stockholm was opened and operated by Air China and SAS.

Since the 1990s, the economic and trade relations between the two sides have developed rapidly. The trade volume surpassed US$ 1 billion in 1994. In 2003, the total trade volume between China and Sweden was US$4.2 billion, up 54.3% year on year. Of this, China's export value was US$1,450 million, an increase of 59.7% from the previous year , and its import value was US$2,720 million, up 51.6%. China's main exports were garments, suitcases and bags, shoes, plastic products, textile fibers, coke, canned vegetables, toys, furniture, and telecommunication products. Main imports from Sweden were telecommunication products, steel products, iron ore, precision instruments, building and mining machines. At present, China has become the largest trade partner of Sweden in Asia.

Sweden attaches importance to the exploration of Chinese market. Up to 2003, 575 investment projects were concluded, with contracted investment reaching US$1,635 million and the capital actually utilized totaling US$1.298 million. According to incomplete statistics, Sweden has set up about 200 joint-ventures and solely owned companies in China, including Astra (Wu Xi) Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shougang Kanthal Corporation Ltd., Nanjing Ericsson Communication Co. Ltd., Beijing Nankou SKF Railway Bearing Co. Ltd. and IKEA furniture Co. Ltd., etc.

III. Exchanges and Cooperation in the Fields of Cultural, Science & Technology, Education and Military

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and the Swedish Institute (SI) signed the Minutes on Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation in 1983. The two countries exchanged notes on cultural exchange programs regularly in the years after and the latest one was signed in 1998. The major Swedish visits and activities in China since the 1950s are: the Swedish Governmental Cultural Delegation in 1953, the Swedish Royal Ballet Troupe in 1960 (the late Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice-Premier Chen Yi were present at the premiere and met the Troupe), the Swedish delegation of friendly personages from cultural circle in 1974, the Folk Song and Dance Ensemble in 1982, the exhibition of the Swedish shipwreck in 1992, the Roxett Song Group in 1995, the Gothenberg Symphony Orchestra and Song Group ABBA in 1999,Sweden Week(1999)," Goteborg III"friendly delegation(2002)and Sweden Film Week(2002). Cultural activities from the Chinese side include mainly Beijing opera, acrobatics, Chinese folk music, Chinese martial art, folk art, film week, exhibitions of cultural relics, paintings and pictures, among which the most influential ones are: the Exhibition of the Chinese Unearthed Artifacts in 1975, Tianjin Acrobatics Group in 1975 (the late Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme attended the Premiere), the Tibetan Song and Dance Ensemble in 1978, the Exhibition of Chinese Dinosaur in 1989 and China Festival in 1995 (Queen Silvia attended the opening ceremony) and Shanghai Week (2000),etc. In addition, several Chinese sports teams of table tennis, speed skating and track and field visited Sweden.

Scientific and technological exchanges between the two countries began in the 1970s. The Royal Swedish Academy of Science, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science and the Chinese Academy of Science exchanged visits in 1975 and 1977. China and Sweden established the Mixed Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation at director-general level in 1978 and signed the Protocol on Scientific and Technological Cooperation in 1981. China helped launch the Swedish scientific experimental satellite Freja in 1992. The bilateral scientific and technological cooperation has now been expanded to over 80 programs covering 20 fields such as communication, environmental protection, pharmaceutics, agriculture, forestry and space navigation. Since 1980 the Swedish side has trained about 2000 technicians and managers for China.

Official exchange of students between China and Sweden began in 1964. The educational contacts between the two countries have increased since the 1980s. The Swedish Minister of Education (1980), Head of Higher Education Department (1982) and the Chinese Minister of Education (1983) paid visits to each other. The Chinese National Commission on Education and the Swedish Institute signed the Agreement of Exchanges in 1983. In early 1980s there were totally 120 Chinese students in Sweden and about 20 Swedish students in China. By the end of 1998 both public and self-sponsored Chinese students in Sweden amounted to 2000, while there were about 50 Swedish students in China. The two countries now exchange 20 public financed students every year.

The military exchanges between the two countries started relatively earlier. During the 1950s several groups of the Swedish military officers in the Neutral Nations' Supervisory Commission (NNSC) in DPRK visited China, which marked the beginning of the bilateral military contacts between the two countries. In the 1960s the Head of the Military Order Department of the Swedish Ministry of Defense (1960) and Chinese Chief of the General Staff Peng Shaohui (1963) exchanged visits. The Swedish Army Commander Lieutenant General Almgren visited China in 1979. In the 1980s, there were Swedish Supreme Commander General Lennart Ljung (1982), Swedish Air Commander Lieutenant General Olson, President of the Swedish Defense Institute Major General Rybeck, Army Commander Lieutenant General Bengtsson (1987), Supreme Commander General Bengt Gustafsson (1988), President of the Swedish National Defense College, Major General Renart Nix, (2001), and Supreme Commander General Johan Hederstedt (2002), Deputy Chief of General staff Bengtsson(2003) visited China successively. Swedish Navy Training Ship Karlskrona visits shanghai twice unofficially in 1983 and 1986. The delegation of the Chinese Space Institute (1981), Chinese Deputy Chief of the General Staff Xu Xin (1984) and Deputy Chief of General Staff Qian Shugen visited Sweden (2001).

IV. Consular Relations

In 1996, Sweden opened Consulate General in Shanghai and in the following year China set up Consulate General in Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden. The two countries reached an agreement and exchanged notes on the maintenance of Swedish Consulate General in Hong Kong SAR in 1997. In November 2002, Sweden established a Consulate General in Guangzhou.

V. Friendly cities relations

Tangshan (Hebei province) and Malmö(1987)

Tianjin and Jönköping(1993)

Yichang (Hubei province) and Söderhamn(1994)

Shandong province and Västmanland province(1995)

Guangzhou (Guangdong province)and Linköping(1997)

Guangzhou and Skåne province(1997)

Tongling (Jiangxi province)and Skellefieå(1998)

Jiangsu province and östergötland province(1999)

Zhejiang province and Uppsala province(2000)

Heilongjiang province and Västbotten province(2001)

Yunnan province and Blekinge province(2002)

Shanghai and Göteborg(2003)

VI.List of Important Bilateral Agreements and Documents

l. Trade Agreement between the People's Republic of China and Sweden (1957, revised in 1984 and 1997)

2. Civil Air Transport Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden (1973)

3. Agreement on Maritime Transport between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Sweden (1975)

4. Agreement on Industrial, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden (1978)

5. Agreement on the Mutual Protection of Investments between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden (1982)

6. Minutes on Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation between the Cultural Departments of the People's Republic of China and the Cultural Departments of the Kingdom of Sweden (1983)

7. Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (1986)

8. Memorandum of Understanding on Intellectual Property Rights between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden (1993)

9. Agreement between China and the Kingdom of Sweden on Maintaining the Sweden Consulate General in Hong Kong SAR (1996)

10. Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Transportation of China and the Ministry of Transportation and communication of Sweden on Cooperation in Transportation Science and Technology (1996)

11. Memorandum of Understanding between China and Sweden on Cooperation in Information Technology (2000)

12. Letter of Intent of Chinese-Swedish Cooperation in the Field of Education and Science for the Years 2002-2005

13.Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Between The Supreme People's Procuratorate of China and the Supreme Procuratorate of Sweden