China Finnish Photo:VCG

Finnish President Alexander Stubb will pay a state visit to China from October 28 to 31, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. Experts said the complementarity between Finland's cutting-edge technological advancements and China's extensive production capabilities presents abundant opportunities for mutually beneficial economic cooperation. 

During President Stubb’s visit to China, Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks with him, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji will meet with him separately, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at Friday's routine news conference. The two sides will have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson noted that the day President Stubb arrives in Beijing will mark the 74th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. China stands ready to work with Finland to maintain high-level exchanges, carry forward traditional friendship, step up mutually beneficial cooperation in such areas as economic exchanges and trade, investment and green transition, address global challenges, and further bilateral relations.

The upcoming visit of the Finnish president to China is expected to create more opportunities for further deepening the potential for cooperation across various field, Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Saturday. 

Over the years, China and Finland have maintained and carried out cooperation across multiple domains, including economics, politics, and culture, Mei noted. Given the current challenges confronting China-EU relations – particularly the trade dispute emerging in the electric vehicle sector – it is especially important for China to maintain good relations with EU countries by expanding practical cooperation. This not only helps in alleviating current trade tensions but also paves the way for broader and more meaningful opportunities for collaboration in the future.

China-Finland relations are growing with a sound momentum. Finland was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with China and is the first Western country to sign an inter-governmental trade agreement with China and open direct flights to China. In 2017, China and Finland decided to establish a new type of future-oriented partnership, which was unique in China’s foreign relations.

The economic complementarity between China and Finland is robust, with Finland currently being China's third-largest Nordic trading partner. China has been Finland's largest trading partner in Asia for many years. According to Chinese customs data, their bilateral trade volume reached $8.2 billion in 2023.

Finland is renowned for its world-leading capabilities in technology research and development, particularly excelling in fields such as information technology, healthcare, and environmental energy. Meanwhile, China offers a vast market size and a formidable manufacturing base, creating a dynamic landscape for economic collaboration. 

This complementarity between Finland's cutting-edge technological advancements and China's extensive production capabilities presents abundant opportunities for mutually beneficial economic cooperation, fostering innovation, enhancing competitiveness, and promoting sustainable growth, Zhu Keli, founding director of China Institute of New Economy, told the Global Times on Saturday.

In addition, the enormous potential for cooperation has laid the foundation for the future-oriented partnership between the two sides. For instance, in terms of the green economy, Finland's advanced environmental technologies, clean energy solutions, and sustainable economic development models closely align with China's ongoing efforts in ecological civilization construction, green transformation, and climate change. Bilateral cooperation on the green economy will not only contribute to the common development of the two economies, but also inject new vitality and impetus into China-EU cooperation, Zhu said.

“The trade dispute between China and the EU has not hindered and will not prevent good relations and cooperation between China and Finland, which I think offers a good example for other European countries,” Mei noted.