China's Nobel feud with Norway still on

2012-10-31 13:00

(Duncan Alfreds, News24)

Beijing — China is signalling no end to a two-year-old frost in relations with Norway prompted by the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo.

Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said on Wednesday it remained up to Norway to repair the rift that has seen trade ties disrupted and political contacts put on hold.

Specialty products with a strong national identity — such as fjord-farmed salmon — have run into trouble, along with Norwegian companies doing business in China.

In a repeat of previous statements, Ma accused Norway's government of supporting the Nobel jury's 2010 decision, despite the fact that Oslo cannot interfere with its rulings, whether it agrees with them or not. The award infuriated China, which accused Norway of honouring a criminal.

- AP