Thread by @bjornjerden

China will implement unilateral economic sanctions against Sweden, according to China's ambassador:

"We will not only impose restrictions in the cultural field, but also limit exchange and cooperation within economy and trade."

https://twitter.com/taakerblom/status/1202606126866583552

- Open economic sanctions is a clear escalation of China's combative policy toward Sweden.
- The ambassador delivered the message in Gothenburg on Wednesday.
- According to a source at the Chinese embassy, there is already an impact on bilateral trade-related meetings.

- The ambassador says that he will inform the Swedish MFA about the details.
- It's unclear whether the Chinese side refers to only restrictions in bilateral government exchanges, or also targeted sanctions against Swedish companies.

- According to previous reports, Chinese authorities have already imposed a ban on the screening of films produced in Sweden.
- Moreover, after attending a prize ceremony in honor of the Swedish citizen Gui Minhai, the Swedish Minister for Culture is no longer welcome in China.

- Sweden's FM Ann Linde responds:

"We have taken note of the media information, but have not received any specific information about this from Beijing via our normal channels. Therefore, we do not want to speculate about what it might mean."

gp.se/ekonomi/ann-li…

- On his way to Gothenburg, the ambassador payed a visit to Jan Myrdal. Myrdal, an early admirer of Mao Zedong, was the leading leftist intellectual in Sweden in the 1960's and 1970's. His 1963 book "Report from a Chinese Village" was a bestseller.

hallandsposten.se/nyheter/hallan…?

- Myrdal supports the "Bernadotte line" -- a small country realism in which Sweden strives to achieve balanced relations with all the great powers. He criticizes Sweden's current China policy as "too activist". A minority position, but some Swedish business leaders might agree.

- The son of two Nobel Prize laureates, Alva (peace) and Gunnar (economy), Myrdal belongs to a family that shaped modern Sweden. His admiration for the CCP is explored in Perry Johansson's "Saluting the Yellow Emperor: A Swedish Case of Sinography".

brill.com/view/title/186…

- At a lecture later the same day where the ambassador announced the economic restrictions against Sweden, he praised Myrdal's writings from China as a good example, in contrast to current Swedish media coverage of the country.

gp.se/ekonomi/kinas-…