The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference is being held from March 25 to 28, 2025 in South China's Hainan Province. Photo: Liu Yang/GT

China and Norway have great potential to collaborate, particularly in the energy transition, Carl Fey, professor on Strategy at BI Norwegian Business School, told the Global Times on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), adding that China will reach its GDP growth target of around 5 percent this year.  

Carl Fey, professor on Strategy at BI Norwegian Business School Photo: Liu Yang/GT

Fey noted that Norway is the country in the world that had the greatest percentage of electric vehicle (EV) sales, and in 2024, 89 percent of new car sales in Norway were of EVs. As China is a very large producer of EVs, the two countries can collaborate in EVs, Fey said.

There are also other areas in the green energy field that China and Norway could collaborate on. For example, Norway has the world’s first large-scale carbon capture facility, which could be helpful to China in carbon capture, an important technology for the green transition, Fey said.

Noting that Norway has not followed the EU in imposing tariffs against Chinese EVs, Fey said that “I think this is one of the reasons that Norway has such a high percentage of EV sales. It also is a symbol of the close relationship and friendship between Norway and China,” Fey noted.

When talking about the US’ tariffs, Fey said that “I’m against tariffs. I think that it would be much better if the world did not have tariffs. And it’s ironic because normally the US has been the leader in the world pushing for a free market... Tariffs are not good for anyone. This is a lose-lose situation. It's a ‘lose’ for the US, it's a ‘lose’ for China, and it’s a ‘lose’ for the world.”

As for China’s economic prospects this year, Fey said that China will reach its GDP growth target of around 5 percent this year. “One of the good things about China is that when it sets a target, it normally meets it. Every political system has some advantages and disadvantages, but this is a real advantage of the Chinese government that when it sets a target, it meets this... through providing some incentives, which not only helps you in short term, but it helps China to be more effective also in the long term,” Fey told the Global Times.

“Some people have been talking about the economic slowdown... but it’s important to note that most countries in the world would be just ecstatic if they could be thinking about having a 5 percent GDP growth,” Fey said.