His Majesty King Harald V of Norway has sent his congratulations to Chinas President, Mr Xi Jinping, on the occasion of his re-inauguration as President of China. The congratulations were sent out from the Norwegian Royal Court on Monday.
The congratulatory message from King Harald is as follows:
HE Mr Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing
Your Excellency,
On the occasion of your reinauguration as President of the People’s Republic of China, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations and my best wishes to you personally and to your family, and my hopes for the welfare and prosperity of the people of the People’s Republic of China.
Harald R
Queen Sonja, King Harald and Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen.
His Majesty King Harald and Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway were, in April of last year, invited to conduct a state visit to China. The tour will take place in the autumn of this year.
The invitation was brought over to Prime Minister Erna Solberg when she met with the Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in April 2017. “We are now working to find a date that suits both parties,” said Solberg then. In his greeting on the King’s 80th birthday in February, the President of China wrote, “Welcome to China.” King Harald and Queen Sonja have not been to China since their state visit to the country in 1997, and the last time a Chinese president travelled on a state visit to Norway was in 1996.
Queen Sonja together with King Harald on their anniversary trip in 2017. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen.
In 2003, the volume of the bilateral trade between China and Norway was US$1.76 billion. Bilateral trade has steadily increased over the years. The Chinese-Norwegian relationship ran into a significant setback in 2010 because Norway’s Parliament appointed Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to the incarcerated Chinese human rights activist, Liu Xiaobo. Norway and China finally normalised its diplomatic and political bilateral relations in 2016.
This week the Norwegian Royal Family is on their Easter holiday break in the Norwegian mountains. The Royal Family will, therefore, not perform any duties until the end of next week. The Royal Court’s calendar confirms that the King, Queen and Crown Prince will meet representatives of the Norwegian government through audiences and government councils.
