China Finland Photo: VCG

China is an important market for Finnish companies, particularly in green transition in which the two countries are "highly complementary," Juha Tuominen, chairman of FinnCham China Beijing, said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Monday, adding Finland is willing to expand cooperation across industries with China.

The remarks were made against the backdrop of Finnish President Alexander Stubb's state visit to China from Monday to Thursday, when the two sides will exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common interest, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Commenting on the presidential visit, Tuominen said that the Finnish business community in China sees this visit as an important signal to improve their trade relations. "The visit will definitely boost cooperation between Finnish and Chinese companies," he said.

The chamber head said that China and Finland share strong complementarities, particularly in sustainability and the circular economy sector.

Finnish companies have long been among the global leaders when it comes to sustainable solutions. As China intensifies its actions toward carbon neutrality, Finnish companies' knowhow and technologies can have a significant impact on this development, Tuominen said.

Finnish companies excel in areas like clean energy, bio-economy, and cross-industry energy efficiency, he noted.

The Finnish market also appeals to Chinese companies, with Chinese automakers such as Dongfeng and BYD expanding businesses in Finland to provide quality electric vehicles to the local market, according to media reports.

In the recent vote regarding the imposition of tariffs on Chinese EVs, Finland abstained, reflecting its need to collaborate with China, Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

In addition to the green field, Finnish companies in healthcare, digitalization and consumer product sectors see China as a major market for business expansion, said Tuominen.

China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with Finland, continue traditional friendship, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, investment, green transformation and other fields, jointly meet global challenges, and promote the further development of bilateral relations, said Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Xinhua reported.

The economic complementarity between China and Finland is robust, with Finland currently 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, bilateral trade volume reached $8.2 billion in 2023.

China-Finland economic and trade cooperation has become the "ballast stone" and "propeller" of the bilateral relations, Chinese Ambassador to Finland Wang Tongqing said in a previous statement, according to media reports.

The ambassador said that China and Finland's economies are highly complementary, offering strong potential for collaboration in technological innovation, information and telecommunications, and clean technology.

Juha Tuominen, chairman of FinnCham China Beijing Photo: Courtesy of Juha Tuominen