Mon, September 24, 2012
By Li Hongmei, Special to Sina English
President Hu Jintao arrived in Copenhagen on Thursday accompanied by a large trade and business delegation, the first-ever visit by a Chinese head of state to Denmark.
Hu was met at Copenhagen airport by Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and her husband Prince Henrik, as well as other members of the royal family, television footage showed.
Hu's trip officially unfolds Friday with a courtesy call on Queen Margrethe at the royal palace, after which he and his wife Liu Yongqing were to board the royal yacht Dannebrog for a sightseeing tour of Copenhagen harbour.
At the same time, Chinese and Danish businesses and officials are scheduled to open a trade conference, at which seven Chinese companies are expected to sign agreements with Danish partners on future cooperation.
China has always attached great importance to its ties with Denmark, and now it is seeking to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
China froze relations with Denmark in 2009, after two successive prime ministers met the Dalai Lama at the official government residence, a move that violates China’s core interests and impairs the bilateral ties.
Those relations were mended in late 2010 when the Danish parliament made it clear that Copenhagen had a one-China policy and did not back independence of Tibet.
The majority of Chinese people have formed a mind picture of Denmark and Danish culture as a result of having been deeply touched and impressed by The Little Match girl by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson.
Thus, the two countries have a sound cultural foundation to work together in areas as promoting mutual understanding and enhancing people-to-people exchanges.
On this basis, deepening bilateral economic cooperation in areas like energy, environmental protection, green economy, agriculture and food safety will be naturally achieved, as when conditions are ripe, success will come.
The Chinese foreign minister Yang Yiechi also welcomed Danish enterprises to increase their investment in China and called on China's firms to start doing business in Denmark when he visited the country last year.
Hopefully, the two countries adhere to the principle of mutual respect and equality, and properly handle sensitive issues concerning China's core interests so as to maintain the political foundation of the development of the China-Denmark relationship.
President Hu is also to hold talks on Saturday with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt before departing for the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico on June 18-19.
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