Invest Sweden is a government institution under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. Since its establishment in 1995, it has been offering specialist insight on doing business in Sweden to companies worldwide.

"Our China office was founded in 2002 and Sweden is one of the earliest developed European countries that have set up an investment agency in China," Eddie Chen, the agency's vice-president and chief representative for Greater China, told China Daily.

Sweden has paid special attention to China's vast potential demand of overseas investment right from the beginning.

China has adopted a "go-global" policy and many of its companies have ventured into international markets.

In 2002, Invest Sweden and China's National Development and Reform Commission signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation. The following year, the agency founded an investment work committee along with China's Ministry of Commerce.

Since then, the agency has been communicating regularly with these two Chinese government organizations on policies and two-way investment projects between China and Sweden, he said.

Globalization brought Chinese enterprises a historical opportunity and the nation's overseas investment entered a new stage. Invest Sweden introduced them to one of the most suitable destinations for investment - Sweden.

The country is a prime location for centralized market operations in Northern Europe and the preferred choice for regional headquarters and multinational distribution, contact and shared service centers, Chen said.

In Sweden, investors get access to the prospering domestic and Scandinavian markets and the world's largest free-trade market - the European Union with 27 countries and 500 million consumers.

"While Chinese enterprises' overseas investment is becoming more diversified, we also advanced our working method, looking for more communications and cooperation between Chinese and Swedish companies," Chen said.

Besides seeking potential investment projects, the agency has also made great efforts in establishing platforms for quality enterprises.

During the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, Invest Sweden, Private Enterprises Joint Pavilion and Sweden Pavilion jointly held a roundtable meeting for Chinese and Swedish enterprises' leaders.

Many companies, including Volvo, Investor AB, Envac Group, and Fosun, attended the meeting, and discussed development strategies and exchanged opinions on deepening China-Sweden business ties in the post-crisis period, the chief representative said.

After the meeting, the agency and Private Enterprises Joint Pavilion signed a memorandum for organizing a council for long-term industry cooperation between China and Sweden.

In nine years, the agency directly helped more than 250 Chinese enterprises make investment in Sweden.

In April 2008, Sweden was awarded the most attractive destination for investment at the "National Strategy Forum on the Internationalization of Chinese Enterprises", and Invest Sweden, on behalf of the Swedish government, accepted the award.