Norwegian companies look to seize CIFTIS opportunities to enter Chinese market

Norwegian companies are looking to use their country's status at the just-opened 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) to seek new partners in the Chinese market, with firms from the maritime, energy and green technology sectors among them.

The five-day fair opened on Wednesday at Shougang Park in Beijing, drawing participants from 90 countries, regions and international organizations, with more than 1,800 companies exhibiting on-site.

Norway has been designated as the Guest Country of Honor at this year's CIFITS fair, and has brought along a sizable business delegation to the event.

Among the companies taking part is one based on the country's west coast that farms Atlantic halibut. The cold, clean water of Norway's fjords provides ideal conditions for the fish, which has a longer growth cycle and is harder to farm than the widely farmed salmon. The company says it now sees strong potential in China.

"Obviously [there are] huge opportunities in the Chinese market and we know that there is a growing demand also for high-end products in China. And of course, the quality is our selling point, you could say," said Edvard Henden, the CEO of Nordic Halibut.

Getting Norwegian Atlantic halibut onto Chinese tables requires a full international services trade chain involves a complete international services trade chain, from farming, processing and cold-chain shipping to imports, distribution and restaurants.

For Nordic Halibut, CIFTIS also serves as a key platform to meet potential Chinese partners.

"The CIFTIS is a big fair that makes you see all the opportunities in the big Chinese market for seafood. So I think that it opened up new views for our as a participant," said Ann Kristin Fladset, the firm's chief operating officer.

Beyond aquaculture, a growing number of Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in marine economy, green energy, digital technology and the health sector are using CIFTIS to better understand the Chinese market.

A representative from the Kristiansund and Nordmore Chamber of Commerce, which is helping organize Norwegian participation in the trade fair, noted that China's large market holds strong appeal for Norwegian SMEs looking to expand overseas and believes there's room for the two sides to expand cooperation further.

"The CIFTIS is a great door opener for us to learn and to get relations and to understand what will be the next steps. As we enter the market like China, we need volume, so it has to be planned very well to go there. And that is what we're doing now. And what is also a challenge is to understand the culture, both of the people and of business,"said Synnove Nes, a project manager at the chamber.

Norwegian companies look to seize CIFTIS opportunities to enter Chinese market

Around 300 representatives and guests from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies and eight international organizations joined the 16th APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting in Beijing on Thursday and Friday.

They had discussions on three priority directions: high-quality inclusive energy service, mutual empowerment of artificial intelligence and energy, and energy governance synergy in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We chose high-quality inclusive energy service, artificial intelligence and energy, and energy security synergy as three directions for discussions, aiming to address the common concerns of various sides. Inclusive energy service focuses on inclusive development so as to help various economies benefit more from energy-transition outcomes. The integration of digital and intelligent technologies represents the future direction in driving energy transformation through technological innovation. Energy security synergy helps solidify the guarantee for basic needs and ensure the stability of energy supply chains in the region," said Xiong Minfeng, deputy head of the Department of International Cooperation under the National Energy Administration.

The meeting integrated the idea of "high-quality development" into the APEC regional energy cooperation framework, and defined high-quality energy services as "safe and reliable, sufficient and resilient, universally accessible, sustainable and affordable", guiding the focus of regional cooperation to shift from basic energy coverage to the improvement of service quality.

"To model the market in a way that can better work for renewables instead of fossil fuel, so at least definitely not having subsidies to the fossil fuel activities, and pave the ground for all forms of electricity or power. We have to ensure that these tumultuous increase of the use of renewables should also be accompanied by the recycling of the workers that are coming from the fossil fuel system to the new one based on renewables," said Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

"So I think this will be important to realize how we can ensure that energy system could be more affordable, reliable for everyone, that for us to ensure energy security, the choice is renewables. And for making renewables work, we need grids and pipelines that are inter-connected, flexible, and make the electrons and molecules moving from one country to another to ensure energy security and the wellbeing of everyone," he added.

APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting eyes inclusive service, AI empowerment, governance synergy