Search results

In this article, I investigate trade relations between Norway and China after the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a leading Chinese dissident. It is a case study of China's political use of economic levers in its international relations. Concluding that Sino-Norwegian trade relationship did not suffer the severe impact that many predicted, I argue that the threshold for China to enact punitive economic actions seems higher than is often acknowledged. China's sensitivity is to the costs and benefits of the relevant country's trade. (Asian Perspect/GIGA)

Summary

In the diplomatic canon, where the field has been demarcated by a central distinction drawn between suzerain and parity-based state relations, Imperial China has squarely been designated to the former category, and thereby as inherently alien to the diplomatic tradition. However, this image of a monolithic 2000-year-long rigid, hierarchical system betrays a too shallow assessment of Chinese history, and fails to acknowledge a noteworthy strain of parity-based relations running through Imperial Chinese foreign policy. This strain was at its most pronounced during the four centuries of the Song Dynasty, where China's relations with a set of important neighbouring states were handled on egalitarian terms that were far more reminiscent of a full-fledged diplomatic multi-state system than what is popularly acknowledged. Based on a case study of the diplomatic relations of the Song Dynasty, this article argues that Imperial Chinese foreign policy on a set of occasions showed itself to adhere to principles immanent to classical diplomacy, and that these eras thus should naturally, and beneficially, belong to the historical canon of diplomacy.

De fem nordiske landene har alle gjort suksess som små og økonomisk åpne stater på verdensmarkedet. Denne åpenheten har tillatt kapital, varer og ideer å flyte relativt uhindret fra verdens økonomiske kraftsentre til Europas nordligste utkant. Kinas fremvekst som et økonomisk kraftsenter har imidlertid medført et nytt dilemma: Hvordan forholder man seg til en autoritær, men investeringsvillig, økonomisk stormakt man ikke har sikkerhetspolitisk samarbeid med? I denne fokusspalten presenterer forskere fra hvert av de nordiske landene hvordan debatten rundt dette dilemmaet har kommet til uttrykk i de ulike nordiske offentligheter. I sum fremviser de fem kapitlene noen brede nordiske fellestrekk. I alle land har sikkerhetsproblematikken ved kinesiske investeringer blitt mer fremtredende, men det har kommet til uttrykk på noe ulikt vis i henholdsvis dansk, finsk, islandsk, norsk og svensk debatt. Kapitlene viser samlet sett at det har skjedd en betydelig endring i de ulike nasjonale debattene. Denne endringen har skjedd både svært nylig, svært raskt og i stor grad samtidig på tvers av den nordiske offentligheten, i takt med at de nordiske landene har måttet tilpasse seg en internasjonal situasjon hvor økonomi og sikkerhetspolitikk i økende grad har blitt sammenflettet.
Abstract in English:Chinese Investments in the NordicsThe five Nordic countries have all enjoyed considerable success as small, economically open countries on the world market. This openness has allowed capital, goods and ideas to flow relatively unimpeded from the economic power centres of the world to the northernmost fringe of Europe. China's rise as an economic hub has, however, resulted in a novel dilemma; how to relate to an authoritarian economic great power that is outside of one's security alliances, but is very willing to invest. In this focus section, researchers from each of the Nordic countries present how the debate over this dilemma has proceeded in the respective Nordic publics. In sum, the five chapters demonstrate certain broad common traits amongst the Nordics. In all of the countries the potential security issues concerning Chinese investments have lately become a substantially more prominent feature of the national debate, although the modality of this shift showcases some slight varieties in the Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish debates, respectively. The chapters demonstrate that there has been a substantial shift in the debate in all of the five public spheres. This shift has both happened quite recently, quite fast, and to a large extent quite simultaneously across all of the Nordic countries, as they have had to rapidly adjust to a new international environment where economy and security have become increasingly interlinked.

Den norske debatten om kinesiske investeringer og sikkerhet har gjennomgått et betydelig taktskifte på få år. Fra en situasjon hvor det i liten grad var en debatt, og hvor kritiske røster i hovedsak angikk bekymringer om arbeidsmiljøutfordringer, har kinesisk næringsvirksomhet i Norge nå også blitt en del av den sikkerhetspolitiske debattsfæren. To særtrekk gjør det norske eksempelet til en spesielt interessant studie av de fellesnordiske spørsmålsstillingene diskutert i denne Fokusspalten. Norsk økonomi har tjent særegent godt på det kinesiske veksteventyret, men Norge har også stått i en særegent vanskelig politisk stilling overfor Kina gjennom det siste tiåret. Kontrasten mellom disse to faktorene har stått sentralt i norsk Kina-debatt. Ikke desto mindre har den norske offentlige debatten rundt kinesiske investeringer vært relativt positiv. Dette har blant annet vært drevet frem av gode erfaringer blant norske selskaper som har blitt kjøpt opp av kinesiske partnere. Den offentlige samtalen har dog i nyere tid begynt å relatere til spørsmålet gjennom en politisk og sikkerhetsmessig vinkling. Dette er et taktskifte som ikke skyldes hendelser knyttet til eksisterende kinesisk aktivitet i Norge, men heller en norsk gjenspeiling av bredere globale og regionale trender. Huaweis rolle i den kommende utbyggingen av 5G-nettverket har vært et spesielt viktig bindeledd til denne internasjonale opinionsdreiningen.
Abstract in English:Norway's Debate about Chinese Investments: From Benevolence to CautionThe debate in Norway regarding security concerns related to Chinese investments has seen a notable change in character over a short period of time. From a situation where there was little discernible debate at all, and where negative coverage of Chinese investment flows were mainly concerned with working environment issues, Chinese capital flows to Norway have now also become part of the debate on national security. Two particularities make the case of Norway especially interesting with regards to the broader Nordic debates over the issues discussed in this Fokus section. The Norwegian economy has been particularly well placed to benefit from the extraordinary Chinese economic growth, but Norway has also been in a particularly problematic political position towards China over the last decade. The contrast between these two factors has been a structuring trait of the Norwegian China debate. Nevertheless, the Norwegian public debate on China has been relatively positive over a long period of time. This has been given impetus by the positive experiences reported from the Norwegian enterprises that have been the target of Chinese acquisitions. However, lately, the public debate has increasingly come to regard the issue also through a political and security-related lens. This changing character is not due to specific events concerning Chinese activities in Norway, as much as being a reflection of broader regional and global trends. The question of Huawei's role in the coming construction of the 5G network has been a particularly important driver in this regard, as well as conductive link to the international change in opinion.