According to a statement issued by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will travel to Beijing on August 16 and 18 to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two ministers will discuss a new Danish-Chinese environmental cooperation program. The statement noted that this is Rasmussen's first visit to China as Foreign Minister. The trip is scheduled to begin in Shanghai on August 16 and 17, where the Danish Foreign Minister will first meet with Danfoss and other Danish companies operating in the Chinese market, representing Denmark's strengths. He will also meet with the Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai. The trip will continue to Beijing on August 17 and 18.
The meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers will focus on global security and the new green agenda, and Lars Løkke Rasmussen will also meet with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice President Han Zheng, according to the statement.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen's statement on the importance of strengthening cooperation with China
According to the statement, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said: “China is the world’s largest economy when purchasing power parity is taken into account, and the largest emitter of carbon dioxide. At the same time, China plays a significant role in global politics. Therefore, we will have to engage with China even if we don’t see eye to eye on every issue. I hope to launch a new work program with the Chinese Foreign Minister, focusing on shared interests such as climate, energy, the environment, and health. I will also address Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Putin listens when the Chinese government speaks out. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a special responsibility to actively participate in the peace dialogue to end the war in Ukraine. I will also address the human rights situation in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Tibet, and the escalating situation surrounding Taiwan at the meeting.“.
In addition, according to TV2, quoting the Danish newspaper Avisen, Rasmussen said, “We must intervene, but we must not be naive. You could say that this work program reflects our relationship with China and our bilateral cooperation with China. Europe is getting smaller and smaller. We are getting smaller and smaller demographically and smaller and smaller economically. Our influence on the rest of the world is also under pressure, partly because of the Chinese making such huge investments and creating dependency relationships.”.
Danish companies participate in the meetings
Leaders from Novo Nordisk, Lego, Danfoss, and Maersk will accompany the foreign minister during parts of the visit. Denmark entered into a strategic partnership agreement with China in 2008. Following this, the two countries entered into a work program in 2017 outlining several areas in which they wished to cooperate more closely. The work program concluded in 2020, and negotiations for a new one have been ongoing since. A number of European allies and partners, including the United States, also have various forms of bilateral power-sharing agreements with China, according to the statement.
Opposition parties criticize the timing of the visit as "wrong".“
According to political analyst Camilla Stampe on TV2, cooperation with China was initiated by former Prime Minister (of the Liberal Party) Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 2008. However, if you ask him today, he says that the path Lars Løkke Rasmussen has chosen is the wrong one. Fogh believes that Danish companies should withdraw from China and make themselves less dependent on the country, according to Camilla Stampe, who reported that many of the opposition parties she spoke to about the trip and the meeting are critical of this visit. Many party representatives believe that this is the wrong time for the visit, pointing out that China has become more authoritarian and repressive in recent years, so they believe that strengthening cooperation sends the wrong signal.
