Norway – China Bilateral Relationship
Shifting alliances, rising stakes – and Norway caught in between
We are pleased to invite all members, interested partners, and potential future members to our members’ meeting, held in cooperation with Nemko.
Norway – China Bilateral Relationship
The relationship between Norway and China is being redefined by shifting trade priorities, security concerns, and competing visions for global cooperation. Navigating this landscape means balancing close European ties with Norway’s own engagement in the Chinese market.
Join us as Ambassador Vebjørn Dysvik, Senior Fellow Jo Inge Bekkevold, and Professor Heidi Østbø Haugen share their perspectives on the diplomatic, academic, and economic forces shaping this pivotal relationship.
The program starts at 17:00 and will be followed by good food and informal networking.
Please register by 24 August.
How to get there
- Bus 250 towards Slemmestad to the Oksenøyveien stop, then a two-minute walk.
- Train to Lysaker station, then bus 250 from there.
- Train to Lysaker station and a 25-minute walk.
- Parking is available at Nemko.
The full program
Vebjørn Dysvik is the Norwegian Ambassador to China. From 2020 to 2024 he was Director General of the Department for Regional Affairs in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dysvik was Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2017 and Political Director from 2017 to 2018. He has also been Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Embassy in Tel Aviv (from 2009 to 2013) and was Diplomatic Adviser to the Norwegian Prime Minister from 2007 to 2009. Previously, he worked on various peace and reconciliation processes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (particularly Philippines and Somalia). He has also been posted to the Norwegian embassies in Guatemala and Stockholm.
Vebjørn Dysvik holds a cand.polit in political science from the University of Oslo.
Jo Inge Bekkevold is a Senior China Fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS). His main field of research is geopolitics, international order, Chinese foreign policy, and Asian security. Bekkevold has published widely on these topics, and he is a regular contributor to the Foreign Policy magazine on topics related to China and geopolitics. He previously served for more than a decade in the Norwegian Foreign Service, including postings to Beijing and Hanoi.
Heidi Østbø Haugen is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oslo, specializing in economic geography and China. She was previously Professor of China Studies at the same institution.
Her research examines China’s economic transformation and global integration, with particular attention to trade, global value chains, migration, and logistics. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in China and West Africa.
Her new book, Makt og marked: Innføring i Kinas økonomi (Cappelen Damm, 2026), explains how China has combined markets and political control to become a global economic power, and what its changing economy means for the rest of the world.
Per Ove Øyberg joined Nemko in April 2019. Per Ove has extensive experience from the Testing, Inspection and Certification industry locally and globally at all levels in DNV GL. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Power Electronics from Gjøvik College of Engineering, and a Master of Science in Process Automation from the University of South-Eastern Norway (former HIT), as well as executive education from Insead Business School, SDA Bocconi and IMD Business School.
