Danish PM vows to seize new opportunities amid China's "new normal"

COPENHAGEN - Denmark will grasp the enormous potential and opportunities arising from expanded cooperation with China, whose economy has entered a "new normal", Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said Tuesday.

"Chinese economy still continues to expand every year in absolute terms, and Chinese growth remains truly impressive also by general international standards," the prime minister told the annual meeting of the Danish-Chinese Business Forum.

China has announced that its economy has entered a "new normal" as the country is shifting gear from high-speed to medium-to-high-speed growth.

Thorning-Schmidt said new opportunities for bilateral cooperation will continue to emerge as China continues to reform and move forward.

"My government is determined to seize these opportunities and make our relations with China even stronger," she said.

The prime minister applauded the enhancement of bilateral cooperation since she took office in 2011, as the Denmark-China trade has doubled over the past years and more than 500 Danish companies are operating in China.

According to the Chinese embassy in Denmark, the China-Denmark trade volume in 2014 rose 16.7 percent year-on-year to $10.6 billion.

The two-way investment also accelerated, with Danish investment in China totaling about 3 billion dollars and Chinese investment in Denmark close to $100 million, the embassy said.

Meanwhile, Denmark received a record number of tourists from China last year, and China has also become a popular destination for the Danish.

"The relationship between the two countries is at an all-time high," Thorning-Schmidt said.

The two countries are scheduled to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

"We must use this opportunity of celebration to go even further," she said. "I believe we have both the right conditions and the right political framework to bring our commercial ties with China to a new level, and I am certain that we will get there."

Echoing Thorning-Schmidt's speech, Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Liu Biwei said the two countries should take full advantage of the occasion to further enhance bilateral ties and economic cooperation.

Liu said China has proposed the founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Denmark is the first Nordic country to announce its willingness to join it as a founding member.

"I believe that as the initiative is gradually carried out, the improved connectivity between Asia and Europe will enhance the economic and trade exchanges between China and Nordic countries such as Denmark," Liu said.