The 3rd Round Sino-Norwegian FTA negotiation was held in Beijing March 10 to 12, 2009. The two sides had in-depth consultations on goods trade, service trade, rules of origin, SPS/TBT, trade facilitation, dispute settlement, trade relief, and intellectual property rights. Positive progress was made.

According to statistics of Norway’s Customs, Sino-Norwegian bilateral trade in 2008 amounted to 7.535 billion U.S. dollars. Among which, China’s exports to Norway were 5.645 billion U.S. dollars, up by 16.14% year-on-year, and textiles & clothing, machinery, and transport equipment are major exports. China’s Imports from Norway were 1.89 billion U.S. dollars, up 17.4% year-on-year, and machinery, base metals, chemical products and minerals are major imports. According to Norwegian side, Sino-Norwegian bilateral trade in the fourth quarter of 2008 maintained double-digit growth, though all countries’ export have been affected by the financial crisis.