China cancels meetings with official over Nobel row

• Source: Global Times
• [02:22 October 13 2010]
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Total seafood exports to China had risen 50 percent to about 1.5 billion kroner ($260 million) through September, making it the eighth-largest market, a report by the Norwegian Seafood Export Council said.

Statoil, two-thirds owned by the Norwegian government, has a cooperation agreement with Sinopec to explore opportunities in the South China Sea and a separate deal with Sinochem involving offshore drilling in Brazil, the Financial Times reported.

Statoil would not speculate on whether it would be hurt by fallout from the prize, according to the report.

But according to Bloomberg, the effect on Norway's main export, crude oil, may be limited as China accounted for less than 1 percent of Norway's exports through August. China imported 188,000 tons of crude oil (1.5 million barrels) in the first eight months of 2010, the Bloomberg report said, citing statistics.

China has canceled planned performances of a musical starring Alexander Rybak, the Norwegian winner of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, Thomas Stanghelle, a Norwegian composer, said Tuesday.

The 200-strong troupe in the opera musical, Some Sunny Night were expected to be performed in early November in Beijing and Wuhan.

Agencies contributed to this story