The Chinese delegation had meetings with the Ministries of Finance and Labor as well as Norwegian labor and employers’ associations. The participants also visited the research institutions ESOP and NOVA. NOVA conducts research on child welfare, youth, ageing and the elderly as well as social security, while ESOP is the Centre of Equality, Social Organization, and Performance at the University of Oslo. The delegation also got the chance to participate in a field visit to Lørenskog county.
The last day of their visit, State Secretary Espen Barth Eide in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with the study tour participants. All of the delegation’s meetings were characterized by a good atmosphere and open and fruitful discussions of Norwegian and Chinese experiences in the field of welfare. The participants were particularly interested in learning more about how to handle an ageing population and how to decrease the income gap. Feedback from the visit will help guide future cooperation between Norway and China in the field of welfare.