China Finland Photo:VCG

Finnish President Alexander Stubb's visit to China will further promote in-depth cooperation between enterprises and innovation institutions from both countries. Considering that the two nations share common interests in facilitating exchanges and stabilizing cooperation amid rising geopolitical tensions, the visit will produce a positive impact on deepening bilateral relations and promoting pragmatic bilateral cooperation, Yang Erlin, chairman of the Finnish Chinese Business Council, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The comments were made during Stubb's four-day visit to China, which kicked off on Monday. During the visit, the two sides issued a Joint Action Plan between China and Finland on Promoting the Future-oriented New-type Cooperative Partnership (2025-2029), focusing on a range of areas including low-carbon development and sustainable growth, science and technology, education and sports, and culture and tourism, according to a statement on China's Foreign Ministry website.

"Finland has a strong competitive advantage in such areas as clean energy, green technology and high-tech industries. China, on the other hand, is a market full of opportunities in those areas, and Stubb's visit could provide a key cooperation platform for Finland, which is seeking new development opportunities amid global challenges and uncertainties," Yang said.

The Finnish president was accompanied by government representatives, including the ministers of climate and environment, agriculture and forestry and foreign affairs, as well as a business delegation. "We expect the visit will achieve substantial progress in more cooperation areas, injecting new vitality into bilateral relations," Yang noted.

Yang said that Finland possesses world-leading technology and expertise in clean energy, the circular economy, waste management and carbon-neutral technologies. Meanwhile, China is actively promoting green development, which signals substantial potential for bilateral cooperation in environmental protection and sustainable technology. 

The North European country is also advanced in biotechnology, medical devices and the management of aging health. Regarding China, the country's aging population will create more demand for health technology and innovative medicine, meaning that the two countries could jointly explore opportunities for collaboration in health management, medical technology and smart elder care, according to Yang.

The business representative is also positive about the outlook for expanding people-to-people exchanges, which he said will be facilitated by cooperation in education and tourism. 

China announced on Tuesday that the country has decided to apply the unilateral visa-free policy to Finland, so as to welcome more Finnish friends to visit for business, tourism and education.

This year marks the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Finland. 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.

Stubb's China visit comes as the EU, disregarding increasing objections within the bloc, steps up trade restrictions targeting China. 

On Tuesday (EU time), the European Commission concluded its anti-subsidy investigation by imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (EVs) from China for a period of five years. The Finnish president said at a news conference on Tuesday that Finland had abstained from the EU's vote to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs.

"There are concerns among Finnish enterprises about how the tariff hikes could affect local EV supply chains and reduce consumers' choices for EVs with high cost-effectiveness… Some are also worried that the tariffs may reduce Chinese enterprises' interest in the European market, potentially undercutting the two countries' cooperation prospects in green technology and clean energy," Yang noted.