2025 China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum held in Wuhan, C China's Hubei

The 2025 China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum was held from Oct. 14 to 16, 2025 in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.

A highlight of the forum, an exhibition, displayed more than 300 premium products from over 20 well-known enterprises and more than 50 European brands, including fresh foods, fashion apparel, and smart home items.

The 2025 China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum opens in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province on Oct. 15, 2025 (Photo provided by the organizer)

Among the exhibitors was IKEA, the Swedish furniture and home furnishing giant.

Over the past 27 years, IKEA has gradually built a complete value chain in China covering design, testing, production, procurement, logistics, retail, and digital development. Our Wuhan store now welcomes 5 million visits each year, helping local consumers discover more diverse and affordable home solutions, said Pontus Erntell, president and chief sustainability officer at IKEA China.

As this year's guest country of honor, Denmark brought dozens of enterprises and organizations to participate in the event.

Maersk opened its Wuhan office in 1999 and has remained deeply rooted here for 26 years, providing integrated logistics solutions encompassing sea, cross-border rail, and air transport, said Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and chief representative of Maersk North Asia.

Over the past 75 years, cooperation between China and Denmark, and between China and Europe has created tremendous value. For many European companies, China remains a vast and highly attractive market. Maersk has full confidence in China's development potential and will continue to expand its presence here, he said.

The China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum is the first and currently the only long-term cooperation platform in China dedicated specifically to Nordic countries. Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of China, and the Hubei Provincial People's Government, the forum has been successfully held six times since its launch in 2018.

This year's forum featured an opening ceremony, five major events, and 12 thematic sessions. More than 200 Fortune Global 500 companies from over 30 countries and regions took part in the forum.

"From January to August this year, trade between China and the five Nordic countries -- Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland -- totaled approximately $38 billion, up 7.1 percent year on year, more than twice the growth rate of overall China-EU trade during the same period," said Wang Yupeng, deputy director of the European Affairs Department of the Ministry of Commerce.

To date, cumulative direct investment from the five Nordic countries in China has exceeded $15 billion, with Sweden and Denmark each investing more than $5 billion, ranking among the highest levels of European investment in China, according to Wang.

During the forum, 69 cooperation projects were concluded, with a total value of around 100.6 billion yuan (about $14.12 billion). Of these, 12 key projects were signed at the opening ceremony, covering sectors such as optoelectronic information, new energy, finance, airport economy, new materials, and business services.

"With its strategic location connecting east and west and linking north and south, Hubei serves as a gateway to a domestic market of over 1 billion people. Wuhan is accelerating its efforts to become an international consumption center city," said Long Xiaohong, director general of the Department of Commerce of Hubei Province.

From January to August this year, Hubei recorded total retail sales of consumer goods of 1.7 trillion yuan, up 5.7 percent and 1.1 percentage points higher than the national average.