The 2023 China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum and Hubei-Nordic (European) Economic and Trade Talks opened on Tuesday in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province.

During the opening ceremony, 24 key projects were signed, with a total amount of 62.3 billion yuan. The signed projects covered various fields, including trade procurement, new materials, fine chemicals, new energy, intelligent connected vehicles, cultural tourism and low-carbon cooperation.

Under the theme of “creating new quality productivity and crafting a new chapter for Europe”, the event invited officials of Nordic embassies in China, including Monaco, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Ethiopia, Iceland, and representatives from business associations such as the Nordic Sustainable Development Association, the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, as well as executives from multinational companies such as Air Liquide, Danaher, Grundfos and Bayer.

Co-hosted by the Department of Commerce and the People's Government of Hubei Province, the forum has been held for five consecutive years since its first edition in 2018. It aims to deepen economic and trade cooperation between Hubei and European countries, showcasing the new momentum of high-quality development in Hubei.

Over the past three years, Hubei's foreign trade with Europe has maintained an average growth rate of over 10 percent. Nearly 700 European enterprises have invested in Hubei, including 74 Fortune Global 500 companies. More than 80 Hubei enterprises have invested in Europe, with a total investment of nearly 5 billion yuan. (en.hubei.gov.cn by Zhang Yawei and Wang Zihui）