Beams of light are projected from the Sinar Mas Plaza in Shanghai, east China, Oct. 26, 2020. A light show will be held on Nov. 5 to celebrate the opening of the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will take place in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Sweden and China have a long experience of close cooperation and friendship, sharing part of each other's history through, among other things, trade for over 400 years, and they have everything to gain from building on this tradition, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement to the Global Times.

"We should ensure that we increase our joint efforts around higher education and research, where the result can not only build our own countries' futures, but contribute to sustainable development for a global world," said the chamber.

The comments come as China, the world's second-largest economy and possibly the only major economy that will grow in size this year, has been promoting a new round of opening-up efforts, which offer fresh opportunities for countries that are eager for trade benefits. 

A strong presence in the Chinese market is deemed a priority for foreign companies, said the chamber, noting that it is likely that much of the technological development in the future will be generated from this environment — and not being present in China would be a serious mistake. 

"China and the outside world can't do without each other," the chamber said.

IKEA, a multinational conglomerate based in Sweden, also told the Global Times that China is a strategic market and one of the most important markets for IKEA, noting that it has a commitment to and confidence in China market.

In recent years, China has enacted a new foreign investment law and other regulatory solutions, which make China's business environment more open, equitable and transparent for foreign companies, said IKEA.

As a multinational company, IKEA is very optimistic about the Chinese market and welcomes the greater opportunities and potential brought by China's continuous measures to improve the business environment, said the firm.