I. Political Relations

The Kingdom of Denmark recognized the People's Republic of China on 9th January 1950 and the two countries established diplomatic relations on May 11 in the same year. Denmark was the second Western country after Sweden to establish diplomatic ties with China. On 15th February 1956, the two countries upgraded diplomatic relations from ministerial to ambassadorial level and exchanged ambassadors.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Sino-Danish bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields have witnessed a gradual development. In the 1950s Denmark rendered its support to China in restoring its legitimate seat in the United Nations. The two governments signed the Trade Agreement in 1957.

The official contacts between China and Denmark increased in the 1960s and 1970s, and the bilateral trade relations between the two countries recorded a rapid growth. In October 1974, Mr. Hartling, Prime Minister of Denmark, visited China at the invitation of the Chinese Government. This was the first official visit to China by a Danish Head of Government. In September 1979, at the invitation of the Chinese Government, Queen Magarate II paid a state visit to China as the first Head of State of Denmark who ever visited China.

In the 1980s, the relations between the two countries developed steadily. The heads of the two governments exchanged visits and the scope of cooperation expanded constantly. The Danish Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament paid successive visits to China. From the beginning of the 1990s, Vice-Premier Tian Jiyun and Zhu Rongji (1992), Chairman of the National Committee of CPPCC Li Ruihuan, Vice-Premier Zou Jiahua (1994), Vice-Premier Li Lanqing (1998) and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan (1999) visited Denmark. In 1995, Premier Li Peng attended UN Social & Development Summit in Copenhagen. In November 1999, Danish Foreign Minister Petersen visited China. In May 2000, on the occasion of marking the 50th anniversary of forging bilateral ties, the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen accompanied by his wife visited China during which President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji held talk with his respectively.