Closer Sino-Danish cooperation urged

Cooperation in renewable energy and innovation will become a new engine for growth for Sino-Danish relations, Danish Ambassador to China Friis Arne Petersen said.

While China and Denmark have had normal cooperation in economics and trade for more than 30 years, the two countries also need new cooperation in fields such as energy efficiency, renewable energy development, water treatment and health policies, Petersen said.

Friis Arne Petersen, Danish ambassador to China

Petersen made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China Daily before President Hu Jintao's state visit to Denmark from Thursday to Saturday.

"China's new emphasis in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) on sustainable development, energy and environment are extremely attractive seen from our perspective. We believe it is the right way to go for China," Petersen said.

The ambassador said that during the visit government agencies and companies from the two countries will sign more than 10 important agreements. The government of China's northeast city of Anshan in Liaoning province has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Danfoss, a Danish temperature-control systems manufacturer, and COWI, a consulting firm in engineering and planning.

According to the agreement, Danfoss and COWI will implement the first district heating system fully designed with Danish standards in Anshan, to help the city cut energy consumption, reduce CO2 emissions and reach an energy efficiency level higher than today's Copenhagen.

Leaders from both companies see the agreement as a "win-win deal for the Denmark-China relationship", and said there will be more projects.

Denmark plays a leading role in energy application, saving and management, areas in which China could learn a lot, said Zhen Jianguo, former Chinese ambassador to Denmark.

Zhao Junjie, an expert on European studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Sino-Danish cooperation in green energy and protection of the environment will be "the engine for the bilateral ties".

Petersen said there are also some other ways to improve traditional Sino-Denmark cooperation, such as the agreement on reforming double taxation.

"The agreement will better fit the modern realities and business between Denmark and China," Petersen said.

The agreement will also enhance the economic, cultural and people-to-people interactions between the two countries, said Petersen, adding that Denmark expects to see a large number of agreements.

The cooperation between China and Denmark is "easy" and "successful" and "the friendship and cooperation are really growing", he said.

"We have had difficult times, but we are always able to learn from the difficult times and become more mature and make the bilateral ties continue to move on," Petersen said.

As the rotating chair country in the European Union, Denmark expects that China can further increase economic interaction in investment, trade and government procurement, and urges EU countries struggling with the debt crisis to take responsibility for their domestic fiscal situations.

Zhen said other European countries will also benefit from Denmark's cooperation with New China.

The Sino-Danish relationship has a long history. The two countries have had diplomatic relations for 62 years, and Denmark was one of the first Western countries to build diplomatic relations with China.

In September 1979, Denmark's Queen Margrethe II paid a state visit to China, becoming the first Danish head of state to visit China.

The Danish royal family officially launched the Mandarin version of its official website to honor Hu's state as well as to show the country's bond with China.

The top page features a slide show of pictures, including a photo of the queen and the president, and another of the queen and her husband Prince Consort Henrik.

Zhang Yunbi contributed to this story.