The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has long worked on a national China strategy. Relations between Sweden and China are strained, partly because of the situation with the imprisoned Swedish-Chinese publisher Gui Minhai.

EU guidelines are not enough

Although the EU has common guidelines for China, the Swedish government has felt that a national strategy is also needed.

“China is a challenge. There are major problems in our relationship with China and there are also great opportunities. Therefore, it is good to lay down some handrails so that we get right, "said Annika Söder, Cabinet Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an interview on Swedish Radio recently.

Want to gather knowledge

SVT News finds that the government wants to invest in a Chinese institute to gather knowledge about the country.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Lund University, Sylvia Schwaag Serger, believes that there is a need to strengthen competence in order to be able to quickly make well-informed decisions about the complex country.

Is it possible to gain relevant knowledge about such a closed country as the one-party state of China?

- China wants to strengthen its country with technology and innovation. We have not taken it seriously and understood that China's influence in the world is increasing and that we are being affected at every level. It is quite possible to have better control, says Sylvia Schwaag Serger to SVT News.

Discussions are also underway to create a knowledge center on Russia and on the nuclear threat in the world.