BEIJING, Oct 30 – President Xi Jinping and Finnish President Alexander Stubb lauded the development of the China-Finland relationship over decades during their talks in Beijing on Tuesday, and agreed to deepen practical cooperation as well as expand people-to-people exchanges for greater progress in bilateral ties.
Stubb, who took office in March, started his four-day state visit to China on Monday, which marked the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Finland was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with China and the first Western country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China.
The economic ties between China and Finland are robust, with Finland currently being China’s third-largest Nordic trade partner and China being Finland’s largest trade partner in Asia for several consecutive years. Last year, the two-way trade volume reached $8.2 billion.
Xi announced China’s decision to implement a unilateral visa-free policy for Finland, saying that more Finnish friends are welcome to start businesses, travel and study in China.
Recalling his meeting with Xi in 2009, Stubb said the world was a very different place back then, and China has grown in the past 15 years in a way that was unimaginable for many.
The Finnish president said his country adheres to the one-China principle and values China’s important influence and its stabilizing and constructive role in international affairs.
