Diplomatic relationship was established on 5 October, 1954 between the Kingdom of Norway and the People's Republic of China, and the Agreement on Sino-Norwegian Cooperation of Economy, Industry and Technology was signed by both governments in 1980. With the adopted open policies and the
rapid development of economy in China, the  Sino-Norwegian cooperation and exchange in economy, culture as well as science and technology has developed smoothly and rapidly. In June 1985, the two sides co-published Conference Summary on Sino-Norwegian Government Cooperation of Science and Technology. According to the above agreement, an independent science and technology working group was set up and regular meetings were held to discuss and coordinate the two side's cooperation. In August 1992, Science and Technology Committee of China(now the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, MOST) signed the Memorandum of Sino-Norwegian Cooperation of Science and Technology with the Norway Science and Industry Research Council  and cooperative projects were carried out according to the above memorandum, with the emphasis on manufacture technology, technology exhibitions, professional training, exchange visits and seminars, etc. These cooperative activities played a active role in promoting mutual understanding between governments, industries and institutions of two sides and contributed in furthering cooperation in science and technology.

During the last decade, Sino-Norwegian diplomatic relationship has a great development. The Chinese President Jiang Zemin and the King of the Kingdom of Norway exchanged the national visits in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1997, Song Jian , the President of the Committee of Science and Technology of China, paid an official visit to Norway , and the Minister of Education, Research and Church Affair of the Kingdom of Norway visited China in 1999. The Vice-Minister, Ms. Deng Nan, headed a science and technology government delegation having visited Norway in 2000. During the visit to Norway, Vice-Minister Deng Nan had official talks with the Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs, Norway Research Council and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and both sides agreed on strengthening bilateral science and technology cooperation and widening cooperative research areas, such as marine science, biotechnology and polar research. Through the efforts of both sides, the China-Norway symposium on polar Research will be held in July 2000 and the China-Norway Conference on Marine Fishery Science is also scheduled.

In 1998, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation(NORAD) allotted 89.6 million Nkr cooperation and aid fund to China. The main cooperative areas focused on environment and natural resources protection, industry and trade as well as cultural exchange. Norway thinks that the environment problem in China is a threat to the sustainable development of both China and world. Thus the successful environment cooperation with China is an important part of Norway international cooperation. Till now, Norway and China have successfully cooperated in the scopes of the quality monitoring of air and water, cleaner production, environment statistics, planning and management as well as cultural heritage preservation such as Guizhou ecomuseum construction, Xi'an traditional architecture preservation and Tibet temple architecture maintains, etc. On Norway side, lots of qualified institutions participated the Sino-Norwegian cooperative programs including research institute, universities and academic societies.

Sino-Norwegian governmental science and technology cooperation mainly classified in four areas, i.e., cooperation with NORAD in environment, cooperation with Norway Research Council in applied and basic research, cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Activities Implemented Jointly(AIJ) programs , and cooperation with Ministry of Industry and Trade in China 21 Century Agenda. NORAD supported programs related with environment protection, environment data analysis, energy technology and its impact on environment, reduction of emission, acid control, natural and cultural heritage preservation as well as tumor medical diagnosis and treatment.

Marine fishery, medicine and pharmacy are potential cooperative areas between Norway and China. The Ministry of Agriculture of China successfully cooperated with the Ministry of Fishery on Norway for more than ten year in the marine fiery resources. Both sides now are seeking to strengthen cooperation in the marine science such as ecology and fishery, polar research, marine culture and breeding, as well as in the areas of medicine.