2017-03-15

On March 15^th, 2017, Chairman ZHANG Yi, Secretary General Francesco Sisci, Deputy Secretary General HU Zhenming met with Mr. Paal Rauum, Norwegian partner in Beijing. Both parties made the respective report as for the preparatory work of Sino-Norwegian Winter Sport Exchange Program for Young People, and reached the consensus concerning the follow-up.

Mr. ZHANG Yi, Mr. Francesco Sisci and Mr. Paal Rauum (Right)

Mr. Paal Rauum is the co-founder of PRE Management of Norway. He has been the senior executives of many international companies, and is well-known because of his remarkable achievements in the fields of financing, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and his vast experiences in entrepreneurship and international management. In 2006, Mr. Rauum co-founded PRE Management, and introduced the business into China, which is involved in Chinese private equity fund industry. Mr. Paal Rauum is actively promoting the friendship between Norwegian and Chinese people. Since 2016, Mr. Rauum works with ECMDC to design Sino-Norwegian Winter Sport Exchange Program for Young People in order to support Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Mr. ZHANG Yi extended his welcome to the visiting of Mr. Rauum. He remarked, the mission of ECMDC is to enhance the mutual trust and deepen the friendship between Chinese and Europeans through the concrete projects in the fields of cultural exchange, economic cooperation and sci-tech innovation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon ECMDC to be actively engaged in the Program and ECMDC will work closely with Chinese partners in order to ensure the successful implementation.

Mr. Rauum expressed his gratitude to the consistent devotion of Mr. ZHANG Yi to the great cause of enhancing the friendship between Norwegians and Chinese. He said, the Crown Prince of Norway attached the great importance to the people-to-people communication between two countries. At the first meeting in 2016, ECMDC tabled the proposal to enhance the friendship between two countries with the winter sports exchange for the young people as the entry point. The proposal has been cherished by the high-ranking authorities of Norway. The related organizations have been working on the action plan of the Program, which is expected to be implemented in China along with ECMDC as soon as possible in order to actualize the mutual benefits.

Mr. Francesco Sisci indicated his satisfaction with the steady progress on both sides. He said, the Program will surely create the favorable conditions for the higher level of cooperation between two countries. What is more, ECMDC is preparing the international high-level forum, while Norwegian friends are welcome to attend the Forum and discuss the down-to-earth cooperation with Chinese partners of different sectors.

Mr. HU Zhenming introduced the recent work of ECMDC. He said, ECMDC has become the strategic partner of the Chinese Society of Education, and is exploring the winter sports cooperation along with Chinese organizations including China Soong Qing Ling Foundation etc. With Norwegian partners, ECMDC stands ready to formulate the comprehensive program that integrates winter sports, STEAM education and social responsibility into one entity. The more social partners can be mobilized, the more significant the joint efforts will be. Mr. Rauum agreed on these words, and would report to the high-ranking authorities in order to win the related support.

Mr. ZHANG Yi, Mr. Francesco Sisci, Mr. HU Zhenming and Mr. Paal Rauum reached the consensus as for the follow-up. Both parties were confident in the cooperation with mutual benefits.