Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a photo with visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his wife Suzanne Innes-Stubb at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 29, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Beijing on Tuesday. The two heads of state also witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of education, water conservancy, environmental protection, circular economy and agricultural and food products in the Chinese capital, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Experts believe the meeting will boost cooperation, clear misunderstandings and help find consensus between the two sides, and inject stability to address the challenges and uncertainties faced by Finland and the whole of Europe at the global stage. The experts also expect the meeting to steady recent turbulences in China-EU ties and mitigate the adverse effects of geopolitical thinking within the EU.

During the meeting, Xi noted that Finland was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China and the first Western country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China. 

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Finland have always enjoyed friendly relations based on mutual respect and trust, setting a fine example of state-to-state relations that transcends historical, cultural and institutional differences, and promotes equal exchanges, Xi said. 

"As the world is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century and the risks and challenges facing human society are increasing, the future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership between China and Finland holds exceptional value and should be cherished and advanced," Xi said. 

China is willing to work with Finland to strengthen strategic cooperation, carry forward friendly traditions, and further advance this cooperative partnership to better benefit the two countries and peoples and make new contributions to world peace and development, Xi added. 

China is willing to further expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Finland, and has decided to include Finland in the list of unilateral visa-free countries. China welcomes more Finnish friends to come to the country for business, tourism and study, Xi said. 

This is the first trip to China by Stubb since he took office, as well as the first by a Finnish head of state in five years after the former president of Finland Sauli Niinistö last visited China in 2019.

"Happening against the backdrop of a complex international landscape, Finland and other European countries - as manifested in the recent frequent visits by several heads of state in Europe to China - hope to boost relations with China so as to address the uncertainties and challenges they are facing," Yan Shaohua, a research associate professor at the Center for China-Europe Relations, Fudan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

This visit by the Finnish president can help alleviate misunderstandings and find balance and consensus in areas such as trade, security and climate, Yan said. 

The expert believes this meeting between Chinese and Finnish leaders will also help mitigate tensions in the current China-EU relationship, which experienced fluctuations due to issues regarding tariffs on Chinese EVs. 

In responding to a question regarding the EU's planned tariffs on Chinese EVs when meeting with the press in Beijing after his talks with Xi, Stubb said "my worry is that we're going into a cycle of tariffs, of trade escalation, etc. We need to avoid that. We need to have a level playing field. And this is the ongoing negotiation."

"Although negotiations around the issue are ongoing and the outcomes remain uncertain, as a country that values green development, Finland hopes to maintain positive partnership with China in areas such as climate change, low-carbon transition, and Arctic governance," Yan noted. 

Finland's stance in this regard may help mitigate the adverse effects of geopolitical thinking within the EU on China-Europe cooperation, he said, calling on both sides to broaden space for collaboration in green transition without interference from geopolitical factors.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his wife visit Palace Museum in Beijing on October 28, 2024. Photo: screenshot from a post on President Stubb's X account.

Deepening bond

On this China trip, the Finnish president is accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs, climate and environment, and agriculture and forestry, the Finnish presidential office previously announced. Judging from the composition of the delegation, Yan said it may indicate that agriculture and forestry could become potential areas for cooperation under the broader theme of green and environmental protection. There is also room for collaboration in the energy sector.

Sari Essayah, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, visited China National Agricultural Development Group on Tuesday, a major comprehensive agricultural state-owned enterprise in China, the Global Times learned from the company. 

Fu Guoqing, the deputy general manager of the Group, told Essayah that with the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative, the trade exchanges of food and agricultural products between the two countries have become closer. Fu hopes both sides could engage in deeper cooperation in relevant fields, providing new models and injecting new vitality for the sustainable development of the dairy industry in both countries.

The Finnish delegation to China also includes representatives from a wide range of business sectors. As reported by Finnish media Yleisradio Oy on Monday, the delegates are from major enterprises that have been operating in China for a long time, such as Nokia, Vaisala, and UPM, as well as the energy and environmental technology company Oilon, which is headquartered in Lahti.

Stubb arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon, with the Palace Museum - China's iconic cultural and historical landmark - being one of his stops on the first day of the visit, according to a post on his X account attaching a number of photos taken from the museum. The red walls and yellow glazed roof tiles set against the backdrop of a brisk, clear blue sky, added a unique sentiment and romance as they welcomed foreign friends to this ancient civilization. 

"The visit of the Finnish president to the Palace Museum embodies the deep cultural and economic ties between the two countries. The photos shared by the president on his personal social media account reflect his recognition and respect for traditional Chinese culture. Such exchanges help to bridge cultural gaps and promote mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples," said a Chinese netizen on Sohu.com.