On 4 March, Chinese Ambassador to Sweden Cui Aimin attended the Webinar with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce China and delivered remarks. The excerpts is as follows:
It gives me great pleasure to participate in the webinar with members of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China (SwedCham China) again in almost a year and exchange views with you. First, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Sweden, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to SwedCham China and friends of the business community for your efforts to strengthen China-Sweden economic and trade relations.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Sweden diplomatic relations. Over the past 75 years, the world has undergone profound changes, but China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation has never been bogged down, and China-Sweden exchanges and mutual learning have never been interrupted. Some Swedish entrepreneurs even took part in and witnessed China’s economic take-off, and made positive contribution to promoting China’s industrial modernization. We look forward to joining hands with our friends here to carry forward the baton of history, and write a new chapter of China-Sweden relations featuring higher-quality practical cooperation. Today, I would like to share some basic facts about China’s economic and technological development since last year and my expectations for China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation.
First, the continued upward trajectory of China’s economy was maintained.
In 2024, China’s economy was generally stable and continued to gain momentum. High-quality development made solid progress. The “troika” of consumption, investment and exports drove China’s economy in a coordinated way and the continued upward trajectory of China’s economy was maintained. China’s full-year GDP growth reached 5% in 2024, contributed around 30 percent to global economic growth, and remains the largest engine of the world economy. Firstly, consumption market steadily built up positive momentum. In 2024, China’s total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 3.5% over the previous year. The consumer goods trade-in program drove the growth of market sales, services retail sales maintained relatively rapid growth, and transportation services retail sales achieved double-digit growth. The package of real estate policy measures took effect. Housing prices showed initial signs of stabilization, and market expectations continued to improve. Secondly, China’s foreign trade achieved a simultaneous increase in total volume, increment and quality. The foreign trade volume has crossed the 42 and 43 trillion benchmark in succession and the increase is 1.5 times the increase in the 13th Five-Year Plan period. More and more high-quality goods were exported. China’s trade in services exceeded 1 trillion USD for the first time. Thirdly, the quality of foreign investment attracted to China continued to improve. In 2024, actually utilized foreign investment reached 826.2 billion RMB yuan. Nearly 60,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established, up by 9.9% year-on-year. The actual use of foreign capital in high-tech manufacturing accounted for 11.7% of the total. Fourthly, overseas investment and cooperation achieved steady development. In 2024, China’s industry-wide outbound direct investment reached 162.8 billion US dollars, up by 10% year-on year. According to a recent report by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, over 80 percent of the surveyed Chinese companies plan to expand or maintain their investment abroad, and over 90 percent are optimistic about the prospects of overseas investment.
Institutions such as the World Bank and JP Morgan are optimistic about China’s development prospects, and revised up their expectations for China’s GDP growth. Recently, several institutions released reports indicating that foreign investors’ confidence in investing in China is being enhanced. The Kearney FDI Confidence Index upgraded China’s ranking from the seventh in 2023 to the third in 2024. Reports by the German Chamber of Commerce in China and the British Chamber of Commerce in China show that more than half of the German companies surveyed intend to increase their investment in China in the next two years, and 76 percent of British companies plan to maintain or expand their investment in China.
Second, the development of new quality productive forces achieved positive results.
In 2024, China’s overall scientific and technological strength has been improved substantially. China’s ranking in Global Innovation Index rose to the 11th. China’s total input in research and development exceeded 3.6 trillion yuan, the second largest globally. China ranked first in the world in terms of the number of researchers and published papers. It also has the largest number of top 10% most-cited papers. Breakthroughs were made in basic frontier fields. A stream of innovative outcomes with global influence were achieved in cutting-edge areas, including quantum information, stem cells, brain science, and neuromorphic chips. China’s technology-based enterprises were growing rapidly. Enterprises’ R&D investment accounted for over 75% of the total R&D investment for many consecutive years. More than 570 Chinese industrial enterprises were shortlisted for the world’s top 2,400 companies with the highest R&D investment, accounting for nearly one quarter of the world’s total. Beijing, Shanghai, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Nanjing are among the world’s top 10 science and technology innovation clusters.
Scientific and technological innovation continued to generate new industries, new models and new momentum. In the past 10 years, the added value of China’s high-tech manufacturing industries over the designated size increased by an average of 10.3% per year, and the added value of new industries, new business formats and new business models accounted for nearly 20% of China’s GDP. Technologies for high-performance equipment, intelligent robots, additive manufacturing, and laser manufacturing have contributed to major upgrades to “Made-in-China” products. Green industries represented by the “new trios”, namely new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products, maintained double-digit growth. China is a world leader in clean and efficient use of coal, new nuclear power, and ultra-high-voltage power transmission. It boasts the largest installed capacity and energy storage capacity of photovoltaic and wind power, and is the world’s largest hydrogen producer.
Third, China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation enjoyed stable growth but encountered some challenges.
Our economic and trade cooperation enjoyed stable growth thanks to the joint efforts from our two sides. In 2024, our bilateral trade increased slightly, and two-way investment was kept stable while gaining momentum. Sweden invested 410 million US dollars in China, becoming the fourth largest source of investment for China in the EU. China invested 1.36 billion US dollars in Sweden, a sharp rise of 70 percent, making Sweden the third largest destination for Chinese investment in the EU. Some areas of cooperation showed new highlights. Hainan Mining, a China-based company, successfully acquired Sweden’s Tethys Oil AB and will carry out oil extraction operations in Oman, representing a new model of bilateral cooperation. The breakthrough of the main tunnel part of the Stockholm Metro Blue Line Extension Project undertaken by CRTG Engineering (Sweden) AB was successfully completed. It is the first main tunnel of this project to have completed the breakthrough. The number of Swedish enterprises participating in the China International Import Expo reached a new high, and the value of intended deals exceeded 1.5 billion US dollars.
In the meantime, we are also soberly aware that China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation is facing some serious challenges. First, rising unilateralism and trade protectionism is disrupting the international trade order. Since the new U.S. administration took office, it has repeatedly wielded the “big stick of tariffs”, unilaterally and wantonly imposing or threatening to impose additional tariffs on its trading partners, which may trigger global trade conflicts, aggravate trade and investment uncertainties, and impact the global trading system. The EU has significantly increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, casting a shadow over the cooperation between China and the EU, including Sweden, in relevant industries. Second, the “de-risking” rhetoric has caused some trouble for the business community to deepen cooperation. In 2024, the Swedish government listed China as one of the countries posing a threat to Sweden in a number of publicly released reports, which undermined the right perception of China and had a negative impact on the Swedish business community’s efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation. Third, new energy cooperation has hit a bottleneck. The burgeoning new energy cooperation between our two countries has been adversely affected by the EU’s imposition of tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China, the crisis of Northvolt, and the shelving of the PTL project.
Both China and Sweden are supporters of free trade and the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. We have the responsibility to explore ways to maintain normal international trade, and oppose the politicization of trade issues, while taking into account the development paths of our respective industries, and ensuring that economic and trade cooperation is driven by economic principles. Economic globalization has made the world economy increasingly interdependent, but such interdependence should not be simply equated with insecurity. Risk prevention and cooperation are not mutually exclusive. Lack of cooperation is the biggest risk, and lack of development is the biggest insecurity. In the face of emerging risks and challenges, it is all the more important for China and Sweden to strengthen communication, increase understanding, and view each other’s development in a rational way. I hope friends present here today could share more stories of win-win cooperation with China with people from all walks of life in Sweden and foster a good atmosphere for China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation. It is also hoped that the entrepreneurs of both our sides will actively explore new models and paths of China-Sweden cooperation and inject new vitality into our practical cooperation.
Fourth, China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation has a promising future.
Since last year, Director General for Trade Policy of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden visited China successively and held positive and constructive dialogue with Chinese high-level officials. This year, our two countries will restart the Joint Committee on Economic, Industrial and Technical Cooperation in Sweden, which has been stalled for eight years, and will hold a series of economic and trade exchange events, so as to build a platform for further promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation that features mutual trust and mutual benefit. China and Sweden have complementary industrial advantages and share the same pursuit and vision for scientific and technological innovation and sustainable development. We welcome Swedish friends from all sectors of society to continue to expand and deepen cooperation with China. Here, I wish to propose the following:
Firstly, we need to focus on green development and promote high-quality cooperation. China and Sweden have a good foundation for cooperation in the field of sustainable development. China-Sweden Hammarby Eco-City Project was launched in Yantai with an aim to build a demonstration zone of smart eco-city community. Scania’s plant in Rugao city, Jiangsu province is exploring the use of Swedish technology to convert waste such as garbage into biogas, which will be used as a green heat source to reduce carbon emissions. At present, the output of China’s green and low-carbon industries is about 11 trillion yuan and there are more than 2 million related enterprises. China and Sweden can further deepen cooperation in sustainable city construction, energy transition and waste management. It is hoped that our Swedish partners would bring more advanced ideas, technologies and projects to China, jointly create economic and environmental benefits, and contribute to global ecological conservation.
Secondly, we need to act on the “AI plus initiative” to empower industrial development. China is vigorously promoting the innovative development and security governance of AI. We put forth the Global AI Governance Initiative, and the resolution on “Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-Building of Artificial Intelligence” proposed by China was unanimously adopted at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. China’s AI industry has surpassed 500 billion yuan, with its computing power ranking second globally. AI applications now cover 95% of industrial categories. Chinese AI companies represented by DeepSeek have received high recognition from Swedish experts, who highlighted the overwhelming advantages of their open-source models in independent development, secure deployment and application ecosystem building. Sweden ranks top among EU member states in AI startups per million people, and is strong in technology and industrial applications. Closer cooperation with China could expand new space for development. China and Sweden can implement the “AI plus initiative” together and leverage digital and green technologies to upgrade traditional industries. Swedish tech consultancy HiQ has begun exploring how to integrate DeepSeek’s capabilities into real-time data analysis to enhance efficiency in finance and logistics sectors. PwC predicts that by 2030, AI will boost China’s and Nordic region’s GDP growth by 7 trillion US dollars and 1.8 trillion US dollars respectively. I hope we can work together to boost economic growth through closer cooperation on AI.
Thirdly, we need to promote life sciences cooperation for the benefit of the people of our two countries. Sweden has highly developed biomedical industry and is a global leader in the biotech, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment sectors. It boasts numerous groundbreaking innovations that have profoundly impacted global health, including Gamma knife, cardiac pacemakers, artificial kidneys, and ultrasonic electrocardiograms. Research institutions such as Karolinska Institute are engaged in active cooperation with China in multi-disciplinary clinical and medical research. According to forecasts by International Data Corporation (IDC), China’s life sciences market is projected to reach 56 billion RMB yuan by 2028. Driven by policy support, economic growth, and technological upgrade, comprehensive healthcare in China is gradually becoming a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. With strong technological innovation capabilities in biomedicine, smart healthcare and related fields, Swedish enterprises are poised to play a significant role in China’s comprehensive healthcare development.
Fourthly, we need to develop the silver economy as the next blue ocean for bilateral cooperation. Both China and Sweden attach high importance to the development of the elderly care system. The “home elderly care services plus community support” model of Sweden aligns well with China’s concept of “15-minute elderly care circles”. China’s population aged 60 and above has reached nearly 300 million. The silver economy currently stands at approximately 7 trillion RMB yuan and is expected to expand to around 30 trillion RMB yuan by 2035. By 2030, China will require 10 million elderly care beds, yet there is a significant gap in current supply. Sweden, as the first country in the world to establish an inclusive elderly care system, enjoys rich experience and high-end digital medical equipment, offering opportunities to strengthen cooperation with China in service models, product sales, and caregiver training. Last year, IKEA launched in China a collection for seniors, achieving a 35% year-on-year sales growth. We welcome more Swedish companies to contribute to China’s elderly care development and realize mutual benefits.
Fifthly, we need to make full use of the dividends of China’s continued opening up. China is committed to expanding opening up and making market opportunities more visible. Last year, China further shortened its negative list for foreign investment. The Negative List in Pilot Free Trade Zones was reduced to 27 areas. All market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector were removed. Important areas such as telecommunication, healthcare, internet, education and culture were being opened up in an orderly manner. China has steadily increased its support in terms of production factors to effectively reduce trade and investment costs. The overall tariff level was lowered to 7.3%, maintaining a relatively low level globally. R&D centers of foreign-funded enterprises in China now enjoy higher tax deductions for their investments. China has continuously improved the services mechanisms to provide businesses with greater confidence in their operations. China has advanced the implementation of the policies for facilitating foreign exchange management in cross-border trade and investment, and eased the international business travel by extending the validity periods of visas for personnel from foreign-funded enterprises to two years. We are taking concrete steps to provide foreign-funded enterprises with a better business environment.
Today and tomorrow, China’s highly anticipated Two Sessions, namely the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), will open in Beijing. These Sessions will further promote the country’s high-quality development and high-standard opening up. They are expected to inject fresh impetus into the recovery and growth of the world economy, and provide new opportunities for China-Sweden and China-Europe mutually beneficial cooperation. Let’s forge ahead together, not only as good partners for mutual benefits, but also as good friends for pioneering and innovative development. Let’s take green development as the defining feature and innovation as the driving force, as we write a new chapter of China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation. Thank you!