China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for stronger cooperation with Iceland in Arctic affairs, geothermal energy, trade and the green transition during talks with Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir in Beijing. The ministers met on Thursday, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement reported by Anadolu Agency on October 30. Their meeting comes as the two countries mark 55 years of diplomatic relations. Wang outlined a broad range of areas in which Beijing wants to deepen cooperation. Alongside trade and geothermal energy, he identified marine affairs, green transformation and the Arctic as fields with potential for closer engagement. He also called for more tourism exchanges, joint scientific research and talent development, presenting these as ways to expand contacts between people in both countries. The Chinese minister linked his proposals to international affairs, urging the two countries to support multilateralism, international law and the United Nations’ central role. These positions were attributed to Wang in the Chinese ministry’s account of the meeting. Gunnarsdottir’s visit to China runs from Monday through Saturday, Anadolu reported. Her itinerary also includes leading a delegation of Icelandic businesses to a seafood expo in Qingdao, in eastern China’s Shandong province. That business engagement accompanies the ministerial discussions in Beijing. China and Iceland established diplomatic relations in 1971. China has since become Iceland’s largest trading partner in Asia, according to the report. The countries signed a free trade agreement in April 2013, the first between China and a European country. It entered into force on July 1, 2014. China’s Foreign Ministry put bilateral trade at $443 million in 2024. The Beijing meeting set out China’s interest in expanding cooperation across several fields. The reported account described Wang’s proposals but did not announce a new agreement or specific project arising from the talks.
