Business executives to join leader of Nordic country on his visit to China

Leading a delegation of executives from over 20 enterprises, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will kick off his four-day China tour on Sunday, becoming the second leader of a European Union member state to visit China within three weeks.

President Xi Jinping will meet with Orpo during the visit, while Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji will hold separate talks and meetings with him, to exchange views on bilateral ties and issues of common interest, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Thursday.

Noting that China attaches great importance to the development of relations with Finland, Guo said that Beijing stands ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with Helsinki, consolidate political mutual trust and strengthen trade cooperation.

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Beijing would also like to work with the Nordic country to promote people-to-people exchanges and enhance mutual understanding and coordination in multilateral affairs, in order to jointly elevate bilateral relations to a new level, Guo said.

Finland was one of the earliest Western countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

It was also the first European country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China.

Last year, the two countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

"It is important to continue dialogue with China on bilateral cooperation and topical international issues, such as challenges in the rules-based system and trade. China is an important export market for Finnish companies and the EU's second-largest trading partner," Orpo said in a news release on Thursday.

In 2025, bilateral trade exceeded $8 billion, while the stock of two-way investment surpassed $23 billion.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the Finnish prime minister will be accompanied by executives from more than 20 Finnish companies during his China tour, covering sectors such as machinery, the forestry industry, innovation, clean energy and food.

The two sides are preparing for the sixth meeting of the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation, with around 50 companies expected to attend, a spokesperson from the ministry noted.

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During Orpo's trip, the Ministry of Commerce will sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening the committee's work with the Finnish side, while companies from both countries are set to sign multiple cooperation agreements, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the two sides enjoy strong complementarity and great cooperation potential in green and innovation-driven development.

China welcomes businesses from both countries to seize new opportunities created by China's continued high-level opening-up, and advance cooperation in areas such as green transition, information technology and the digital economy, the spokesperson added.

Contact the writers at zhoujin@chinadaily.com.cn