China is willing to further increase its cooperation in capital and technology transfer with Norway and adopt various methods in business cooperation, said a senior Chinese official here on Monday.

This constitutes part of the three-point proposal made by ZhangZhigang, vice minister of commerce, at the ongoing 2004 China-Norway Conference on Business, Science and Technology.

Priorities should be identified to achieve breakthroughs in cooperation, Zhang said, noting that Norwegian firms have advantages in gas, energy, chemical industry, fishery, shipbuilding, metallurgy and papermaking, which caters to Chinese industries.

Furthermore, a mechanism should be instituted to promote bilateral cooperation, especially contacts and exchanges between industry associations of the two countries and this promotion mechanism will serve as a vital way to deepen bilateral business cooperation, he said.

"We are here to identify common interests, explore new ideas and opportunities, and build networks. It is my wish that this conference will add further shine to the golden relationship between Norway and China," said Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Boerge Brende.

Apart from a general meeting on reviews and perspectives on bilateral cooperation, the two-day conference will cover four parallel workshops on shipbuilding and maritime, fishing, energy and environmental sectors.

Present at the conference were some 400 officials and experts from governmental organizations, research institutions and businesses in China and Norway.

Part of celebrations marking the 50th forging anniversary of Sino-Norwegian diplomatic ties, the conference was co-sponsored bythe Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Norwegian embassy inBeijing and the Innovation Norway.

It was the first time for China and Norway to jointly hold a conference for promoting Sino-Norwegian business and technology cooperation.

Source: Xinhua