Iceland and China mark 55 years of diplomatic ties

Icelandic officials and guests gathered at the Icelandic Embassy in Beijing to mark 55 years of diplomatic relations with China, which the countries will reach in December. The reception took place on Tuesday evening, mbl.is reports.

Ambassador Bergdís Ellertsdóttir opened the event. She is the eighth Icelandic ambassador based in Beijing since Hjálmar W. Hannesson opened the embassy there in 1995. Bergdís, who arrived in China about two months ago, said it was her first reception and an opportunity to strengthen ties with diplomats attending.

Before the reception, Iceland’s Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir met Cai Wei, China’s vice foreign minister, at the embassy. The meeting was closed to journalists and came ahead of Gunnarsdóttir’s scheduled meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Thursday.

In her speech, Gunnarsdóttir said fisheries remained a cornerstone of Iceland’s economy, alongside growing exports, tourism and green technology such as geothermal energy. She also recalled China’s support for Iceland’s campaign over its territorial waters, saying China had urged major powers to stop exploiting the resources of smaller coastal states.

Iceland and China established diplomatic relations in 1971. Gunnarsdóttir noted that on October 25 of that year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution restoring the People’s Republic of China’s rights at the United Nations.

She also referred to the 40th anniversary, marked earlier this month, of the Reagan and Gorbachev summit at Höfði in Iceland. She said she hoped optimism would return and that Russia’s war against Ukraine would be nearing its end.

Former Chinese ambassadors to Iceland, diplomats from other countries and representatives of Chinese and Icelandic governments and businesses attended the reception. Among the guests were Icelanders who had travelled on Air China’s first direct flight from Keflavík to Beijing, which stopped in Copenhagen.