Smart technology and green solutions

Swedish experience can help China in its efforts to build an ecological civilization

The author is chairman of the Sweden-China Trade Council, the leading, independent network for China business in Sweden.

Swedish companies are well positioned to partner with China for the nation's new focus on qualitative growth of the economy. Sweden is home to a large number of multinational companies with state-of-the-art technology in different sectors, and many of them already have a sizeable, and in many cases, steadily increasing presence in the Chinese market.

Another growing presence that we at the Sweden-China Trade Council, SCTC, welcome is the increase of Chinese tourists visiting Sweden.

In 2014 Sweden saw a sharp increase in the number of Chinese visitors by almost double digits compared to 2013.

As a small country, Sweden is heavily dependent on foreign trade and investment and has seen growth in investments by Chinese companies.

One notable example is Geely's successful acquisition of Volvo Cars in 2010, which created new jobs in Gothenburg, in addition to strong sales growth in China. This was an interesting win-win situation that could be replicated by other Chinese investors. Other large Chinese companies with a growing presence are Huawei, ZTE and Bank of China.

There is clear potential to introduce Chinese capital for investment in Swedish SMEs with state-of-the-art technology and niche products that have good market prospects in China, or can be used to build global standards.

Sectors of particular interest are IT and TMT, Life Science, Auto Components and Shipbuilding-related products.

Perhaps most importantly, however, for Sweden-China business relations, is that our trade and business exchanges go as far back as the 18th century.

In the early part of the 18th century, the Swedish East India Company first set sail to Canton in the Pearl River delta bringing goods from Sweden and Europe to trade with products from China.

In 1892, LM Ericsson sold the first telephone switch to China. This year, 2015, our two countries celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations and the Sweden-China Trade Council marks its 35-year anniversary. At the same time, trade is at the top of the agenda for both countries.

China's shift from trade surplus and direct investment into a consumer driven economy is taking China yet another step forward as the fastest growing emerging market in the world.

The reform program's focus on sustainability and quality will lead to more business between China and Sweden, especially within green technology, where Sweden has great potential to provide solutions to China's problems.

Sweden's approach to tackle environmental problems involves respect for the world's non-renewable resources. Sweden has managed to reduce its CO2 emissions by more than 20 per cent since 1990 and at the same time enjoyed a GDP growth unparalleled by few other European countries.

Back in the 1980's, Sweden was one of the industrialized world's most oil-dependent countries. Today 50 percent of Sweden's energy is classified as renewable.

Bio-energy is the single largest energy source, accounting for 33 percent of the total. This development was achieved through a focus on the importance of the environment, education, cooperation and also development of more resource-efficient solutions.

These smart solutions encompass many stakeholders, from producers to consumers, from public policies to company policies, from theory to practical solutions in the field. There are many examples of these holistic, resource-efficient solutions in Sweden that could be applied in China and they could certainly serve as inspiration.

Take wastewater treatment as one example. In Sweden wastewater is treated as a resource, while in China it is seen as a disposal problem. In Sweden municipal wastewater is not only treated to remove harmful pollutants and other undesired substances. The sludge from the cleaning process is used as biomass to produce biogas, which is used for public transport.

The treated water is used as an energy source, as it is normally warmer than the surrounding fresh water systems. This temperature difference is taken out by heat exchangers and pumped up to 80 C with heat pumps and then used for district heating.

After taking the heat out of the treated wastewater the cooler water can be used for district cooling systems.

Instead of wastewater contaminating ground water and causing health and environmental problems, wastewater in Sweden is an energy resource and a cost-efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat and cool buildings and power public buses.

This is just one example of Sweden's approach to environmental problems. There are several more examples, including waste management, where municipal waste is recycled or turned into energy. Or reduction of air pollution using measures such as regulating laws for emissions at source and the spread of emissions and the development of filters to control emissions.

The technologies and competences for all these examples and processes are available in Sweden, but will only work if a holistic approach to the problem is taken. This starts with the public and private decision-makers and involves all stakeholders, we call this process Eco Governance.

Eco Governance is defined as consensus driven, through education and spread of best practices, and synergy seeking, sharing of information among stakeholders through a collaborative atmosphere, to focus on achieving one or several common environmental goals.

Eco Governance has also been implemented in several other areas in Sweden, for example elderly care.

Sweden is known for many different sectors, like IT, life sciences, fashion, retail and online gaming. Ericsson, Astra Zeneca, H&M, Ikea and King are good examples of internationally renowned Swedish companies.

In 1980, the Sweden-China Trade Council, SCTC, was founded to link and foster trade relations between Sweden and China. We are now the leading network in Sweden providing in-depth knowledge and experience accumulated from our 230 members spread across Sweden.

We are fully recognized by both the Swedish government as well as the Chinese government and we have had the honor to receive many high-level visits to Sweden.

In 2010 the then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited Sweden along with more than 200 company representatives and in 2007 President Hu Jintao visited Sweden and had a successful trip.

This story was provided by the Sweden-China Trade Council.

(China Daily 03/27/2015 page19)