Norway and China announced Monday the resumption of diplomatic relations, six years after Beijing froze ties with Oslo over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident. The announcement means talks can now resume on a free trade pact between mineral-rich Norway and China, the world''''s second-biggest economy.
Diplomatic relations - and the trade talks - were frozen after the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2010 to human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, imprisoned in his own country by authorities who consider him a "criminal." But during a surprise visit to Beijing by Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende on Monday, the two nations issued a joint declaration announcing they were unfreezing ties.