STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for multilateralism to be defended, warning Thursday during a visit to Norway that those principles are being challenged by unilateralist and bullying acts.
Wangs visit to Norway is part of his five-nation tour of Europe this week that also includes Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands. He said multilateralism concerns the very survival of all countries, particularly medium- and smaller-sized countries.
The visiting diplomats top agenda item in Europe was expected to be pushing Europeans to guarantee market access to telecom giant Huawei, and broader efforts to keep European countries quiet on Hong Kong and to take Beijings side in its tariff war with Washington.
Norways election as a member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2021-2022 is seen as a main reason for Wangs visit to the Scandinavian country. Wang said China wishes to see the U.N. play a central role in world affairs, and rejected protectionism and “power politics.
Relations between China and Norway have significantly improved following a six-year standoff relating to Norways Nobel committee decision to awarded dissident Liu Xiaobo the peace prize in 2010, infuriating China. Although Norways government has no say over the Nobel panels choices, China suspended a bilateral trade deal and restricted imports of Norwegian salmon.
When asked how China would react if the Nobel peace prize was awarded to Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, Wang warned that his country would reject attempts to politicize the Nobel Peace Prize.
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