Windmills rotate alongside a lake in Longji town, East China's Jiangsu Province on Tuesday. The project, which has 38 turbines, has a capacity of 98.1 megawatts. It has generated 633 million kilowatt-hours of electricity over the past six years, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons. Photo: VCG

Nordic business groups in China are seeing many opportunities in a wide range of areas such as green development, healthcare and energy, as they pay close attention to China's social and economic development priorities being revealed and discussed at the ongoing two sessions. 

At this year's two sessions - the annual sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body, the country's dual carbon goals, food and energy security and green development have garnered much attention, as China continues to pursue high-quality and sustainable development. 

"The continuous focus on deepening the opening-up to the outside world is a very important and critical part of China and globalization… It is also very important for countries in Europe - including Denmark," Simon Lichtenberg, the chairman of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China, told the Global Times. 

Lichtenberg added that Danish firms hope for a further reduction in China's negative list that would give foreign companies access to certain restricted markets, noting that Denmark is very strong in renewable energy, heating, cooling, water technologies and all sorts of modern agricultural technologies.

"I think the Nordic countries in general and Denmark in particular have a lot to offer in achieving China's dual carbon goals, as well as food production and safety," he said.

Juha Tuominen, chairman of the Finnish Business Council Beijing, told the Global Times that the business group's expectations focus on energy and healthcare this year. 

"Sports are an important tool for the health and well-being of the Chinese people. The focus and policies will continue to support initiatives in the 'sports for all' aspect to ensure that winter sports and sports in general continue growing in China," Tuominen said, noting an expanding market with huge opportunities for Northern European companies.

This year also marks the second year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for economic and social development, which Tuominen said is expected to "see decisions and statements further advancing issues set forth in the five-year plan."

"The dedication and hard work of the Chinese people combined with a very structured and well-managed government will bring China very far in the course of its development [planning]," Lichtenberg said, voicing confidence in the Chinese economy.

The world economy is in a challenging phase, but the Chinese market is the biggest in the world, and the development of domestic spending and services has gotten a big push in recent years, and that will continue, according to Lichtenberg.

With regard to the economic ties between China and Europe, both business groups stressed the importance of keeping bilateral communication channels open despite growing complexity and global uncertainty.

"The [bilateral] dialogue should focus on business, and the relationship should be governed by good international institutions and agreements," Lichtenberg added.