Celebrating 30 years of cooperation with China
On October 24th IVL-China hosted a China Day in Stockholm, celebrating 30 years of cooperation with China and presenting the current environmental challenges and opportunities that exist in China. The meeting gave a deeper insight into present day China andthe possibilities for Sweden to conduct business there.
The China Day took place the day before the IVL 50th anniversary celebration and attendees consisted of representatives from the Swedish governments, enterprises, investment and financing institutes, and also academia from research institutions and universities. Commercial Counselor Mr. Han Xiaodong from the Chinese Embassy in Sweden was one of the speakers during the day and he gave a deep analysis regarding the Chinese development trends and cooperation issues. Tony Clark from the Swedish Ministry of Environment made an opening speech on the Sino- Swedish bilateral cooperation with special focus on the environment field. Östen Ekengren, vice president of IVL, spoke of the IVL history with regards to its cooperation and work being done in China. Gao Si, head of the IVL China division, introduced both team members and the Sino-Swedish environment technology transfer platform that IVL is holding in China. In addition IVL staff from Sweden and China gave several presentations which focused on environment pollution and treatment status in various fields, opportunities for Swedish enterprises in China, the Chinese development model and current work that are being conducted by IVL-China. During the last panel discussion, Tony Clark, Östen Ekengren, Han Guoyi, Michelle Snarberg, Marie Ericson and XU Min had an open discussion regarding why and how to conduct business in China. Key issues such as culture barriers, suitable local partners, the importance of joining a high-level delegation when first entering into the Chinese market were brought up and discussed. The conclusion from the day is that China can learn a lot from Sweden and that IVL-China represents a promising bridge between the two countries. Air pollution, waste, water shortage, soil remediation, EPD and resource production are the main focus at the moment. IVL-China also supports the Swedish Clean-tech companies that are heading to China, currently more than 75 full scale installations. For more information, please contact: Gao Si or Östen Ekengren.