Sweden

In 2016, there were 49 twinning partnerships with China in Sweden. But then, 21 of these collaborations were terminated and 5 were postponed. Additionally, Sweden's second-largest city Gothenburg formally ceased its twin relationship with Shanghai as the final Confucius Institute in the nation closed its doors in 2020.

Driving forces of Sweden’s detwinning with China:

1. Causeway Bay Bookstore Incident – the detention of Gui Minhai

The detention of Hong Kong book publisher, Gui Minhai (桂民海) – who is also a Swedish citizen in 2015, is one of the main reasons leading to the deterioration of relations between Sweden and China. 5 owners of a bookstore that sells books critical of Chinese political leaders in Hong Kong vanished and appeared in China “voluntarily” as claimed by Chinese officials. Mr Gui was believed to be abducted by Chinese agents in Thailand and has now faced a 10-year sentence for “endangering national security”.

Mr Gui was made to renounce his Swedish citizenship and make a coerced confession in interviews on Chinese state television. When Mr Gui’s verdict was delivered in 2020, the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court said that his Chinese citizenship was restored in 2018 as China does not recognise dual citizenship. In response, Sweden's foreign minister demanded the release of Mr Gui and referred to him as a “citizen”.

2. China’s wolf warrior diplomacy in recent years

In 2020, a Swedish newspaper reported that Linköping cut ties with China “due to the threats that the Chinese embassy has directed towards the Swedish government”. Indeed, the imprisonment of Gui Minhai intensified the weakening ties between the two nations. Yet, China's wolf warrior policy has made the situation worse, particularly after Gui Congyou was appointed as ambassador to Sweden. He constantly attacked Swedish media, and even Swedish officials, via emails and letters for their coverage of this controversial incident.

“We treat our friends with fine wine, but for our enemies we got shotguns”, this is a message from the Chinese ambassador to Sweden, speaking directly to Swedish public radio in 2019. Gui Congyou issued this threat after Swedish PEN announced that Gui Minhai would receive the Tucholsky Prize, an annual award to writers and publicists living under threat or in exile.

Sweden adopted a tough stance toward China in response to China's ongoing bullying. This resulted in the termination of several sister city agreements in Sweden, and the closure of Confucius Institutes – China's propaganda-spreading tool.