Norwegian and Chinese relations have been extremely strained since the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident. After months of refusing to meet Norwegian government officials, Chinese business leaders now seem to be avoiding a large local shipping exhibition due to be held later this spring.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported last week that many Chinese exhibitors have pulled out of Nor-Shipping, which is held every other year and attracts shipping industry players from around the world. This year’s exhibition will take place at Norges Varemesse in Lillestrøm from May 24-27.
Several Chinese shipyards and equipment suppliers had intended to share exhibit space in cooperation with the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), reported DN. Now the cooperation has been cancelled.
“We understand that it’s the state-owned firms that won’t be coming, while other companies have maintained their reservations,” Tollef Schiander, head of Nor-Shipping, told DN.
Nor-Shipping is nonetheless setting another record regarding exhibition space sold, with 22,500 square meters of stands to be staffed by 1,080 exhibiters from 53 countries.
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