Danish Pragmatism

Beijing Review： The Danish Embassy has opened several accounts on social media platforms popular in China. You have a verified Sina Weibo account yourself， with more than 31，000 followers. Why is a social media presence in China important to you？

Friis Arne Petersen： I think social media is a very important part of daily life for many Chinese citizens. There were few Internet users in China 10 years ago， not to mention social media. Now， almost everybody here knows about social media and is active on it. The way they blog， express themselves， and exchange information is interesting， as is the transparency it has created.

The interaction between citizens， companies， press and embassies is more intense than ever before. So for us， the Danish Embassy， we have to realize that this is ongoing. We have to participate in this conversation. We try to tell others about our policies and views， our ministers visits and their agenda here in concrete terms as much as possible. That can be seen and heard through our embassys website， Weibo and WeChat accounts.

Denmark enjoys a stellar reputation when it comes to clean energy technology. How could Denmark help contribute to environmental protection in China？

I think energy cooperation is very important for both countries， not just in creating new energy policies， energy saving and energy efficiency， but also in the whole related issue between energy， economy and the environment.

China is a big country with 9.6 million square km and a population of 1.3 billion， but with insufficient arable land， water and other resources. In order to continue the countrys impressive and rapid economic growth and create a high living standard for more people in the future， Chinese politicians really have to understand， capture and define the optimization of resources.

We have the most attractive environmental policies and the most progressive energy policies. So I think China has to try to be part of it， which means to cooperate with us in a winwin conversation， and even to go one step further and excel in the wake of urbanization. So far， over 700 million Chinese citizens live in cities， but in the next 20 years， millions of more Chinese people will want to live in cities. You have to try to make economic behavior drive this attractive development toward your objectives of a more sustainable， more economically feasible， more environmentally attractive and more energy-saving society.endprint

Over 480 Danish companies have a presence in China. Danfoss providing heating system reconstruction solutions to Beijings Niujie Community is a concrete example of what is happening now between Denmark and China. The technology the Danish company introduced used as little electric power and heat energy as possible by keeping a constant temperature in rooms.

I think with the new policies we can have our standard of living increase constantly， while not necessarily using resources in an unsustainable or irrational way.

China signed three agreements to boost relations with the EU at the 16th China-EU Summit last November， with investment protection and market access being the primary focus for the deals. How do you view the prospects of Sino-EU trade cooperation？ The EU is by far the biggest economy in the world. We have 510 million citizens in the EU， which now consists of 28 countries. Actually， we have a GDP that is bigger than both China and the United States. Given that situation， I think the EU and China have to have important relations.

EU-China relations are not only trade and investment， but also politically important. I think that the world is developing into a more multi-polar place after the end of the Cold War. It was clear that there were a couple of decades with the United States leading a uni-polar world， but China， India， Japan， Russia， Brazil and the EU have new roles in the international community. All these countries have to cooperate and cre-ate international cooperation.

Fortunately， it will be very much marked and defined by a lot of interdependence， mutual win-win considerations and economic cooperation that would likely stabilize and hopefully also create more predictable cooperation. Peace will prevail in this type of scenario because it is in all countries interest to stay stable and friendly， and compete on economy， trade， innovation and being a productive society or a sustainable society—an environment friendly， energy friendly and progressive society.

I think the EU and China have a lot to offer each other in the coming years. Trade is growing quickly. Investment hopefully will be growing too. We often talk about a sort of twoway traffic. It is fair to say that during the first 20 years of Chinas impressive economic growth， most investments came from the EU to China， not vice versa， and it is not equal. But China has now come such a long way in its economic development model that it is starting to invest more outside. I think the EU will be hopefully the continent that catches a lot of attention from China.endprint

Denmark accounts for only 1 percent of the EUs population， but our export share probably reaches 3 to 4 percent. We are fortunate to have a trade surplus with China in 2013， which only a few countries do. We also hope Denmark will have a lot of brands and technologies that Chinese companies could participate in developing， thus making growth and creating more jobs in both countries. I am really optimistic about the EU and Chinas future together.

Do you have any suggestions for Chinese companies looking to invest in Denmark？

I think that the political openness in Denmark toward Chinese investment is indeed positive. We believe in free trade and we welcome Chinese investment.

Danish industrial companies and agricultur- al companies are more energy-efficient， energysaving and sustainable. Much of the philosophy that we presented in our sectors now matches what China is about to enter.

China has started its 12th Five-Year Plan（2011-15） that focuses on changing the growth model from export- and investment- driven to consumption-driven. At the same time， Chinese leaders want to make their economy more qualitative rather than quantitative. This is attractive to us， because the content of this new growth will be more in accord with what we do or what we can deliver.

Fighting against corruption is a problem that all governments face worldwide. Denmark ranked first alongside New Zealand in the Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International in December 2013. What do you think has allowed Denmarks civil servants to earn such a reputation？

We are very proud of being the least corrupt country in the world. It is a traditional， cultural and political feature that we dont have corruption. We do our job because we are proud to be professional civil servants. The whole culture， identity， social philosophy and our sense of justice really support this attitude. The rule of law， transparency and accountability in society are so big that everyone expects to get their rights.

We are happy that we are able to work increasingly with related organizations here in China to try to exchange ideas so that ordinary people feel their complaints are really taken into serious account.

You served as Danish ambassador to the United States before coming to China in 2010. How do you view the differences between these two powers in their cooperation with Denmark？

We have a lot of cooperation with China on energy， the environment and the issue of sustainability， thanks to the advanced technology， expertise and insight we have. We did not have that in the United States， because the U.S. Congress is divided on the issue of sustainability as half opposes the sustainable economic drive including high taxes on fuel， reducing energy consumption and giving a lot of government subsidies or support to renewable energy in long-term planning. I think China is more strategically minded than the United States， and that allows us to cultivate more energy and environmental cooperation with China.endprint

For small countries like Denmark， we have to believe that it is important for us to try to integrate both the United States and China in the international community with UN rules as a core to back up cooperation. And the more we can make big powers like China and the United States act internationally responsible， the more predictable domestic law-based society we have.

How do you understand the term Chinese dream and what are its implications for Denmark？

I think the Chinese dream is a very interesting and positive new concept defined by President Xi Jinping， and I think he has done a remarkable job， particularly in Chinese dream. For us Westerners， it is common to have politiciansparticular visions and objectives. It is good that China has expressed the vision for future. Everyone needs that and then relates to that individually.

The Chinese dream， in my opinion， is both particularized and， as “beautiful China，” with a lot of environmental and energy components and social values in it.

The welfare system in North Europe has been outstanding with high social welfare for everyone， and especially for those who cannot work for themselves. I think the Chinese dream comprises some of these components and its objective for a more socially sustainable society is very much along the line of our thinking in our society. We think that type of society is a harmonious one. We see great opportunities of what China can achieve in the future. We would like to have political cooperation with the Chinese Government and could discuss possible development in the future.endprint