for example. Since the accession of the Republic of China in 1925, China has been a party to the Svalbard Treaty. China has described itself as a “near-Arctic state” with interests in the areas of resource extraction, climate and environment, infrastructure and research cooperation, and it has demonstrated that it wants greater influence in the Arctic. In line with China’s ambition to be a major maritime power, investments linked to the BRI are being made along the Northern Sea Route, which could considerably shorten transport times between Asia and Europe and at the same time reduce China’s dependence on the Strait of Malacca as a transport route. There is uncertainty surrounding developments in China in the medium and long term. China has ambitions to increase its global influence. At the same time, China is facing a number of internal challenges that have to be addressed. China has a political system that is not constructed to resolve internal conflicts. The country is grappling with concerns such as industrial overcapacity, high domestic debt, a state-controlled market, widespread corruption, major environmental problems and an ageing population. Given China’s size, developments in the country have global repercussions. 3 10 Sweden’s relations with China Sweden’s relations with China date back to the 18th century and the Swedish East India Company’s activities. Sweden recognised the People’s Republic of China in 1950 and became the first western country to establish diplomatic relations with the new China. During China’s isolation, up to 1978, contact and trade were limited. Since then, exchanges have increased considerably. China is now Sweden’s largest trading partner in Asia, and eighthlargest trading partner in terms of trade in goods. In 2018, Sweden’s goods exports to China totalled SEK 67 billion and imports from China totalled SEK 78 billion. Around 10 000 Swedish companies trade with China, and more than 600 Swedish companies are established in the country, several of which have been established there for a long time. Swedish companies operating in China had production worth more than SEK 300 billion in 2018. The majority of these companies have enjoyed good profitability and see continued good prospects. For many of these companies, their presence in China is of central importance for development, production and contact with a rapidly growing and dynamic market. At the same time, foreign and Chinese companies have not been given equal opportunities to operate. Sweden and the EU have therefore emphasised the importance of a level playing field for companies in China and internationally. China has been able to benefit from its status as a developing country in several contexts, despite being a world leader in many sectors. This has been evident in Sweden when, in the context of international postal cooperation, China has been able to send certain types of postal items to Sweden at subsidised prices.