Visit to raise bilateral relations to a new level

After Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo paid an official visit to China this week, the two sides signed a series of cooperation agreements in fields such as political mutual trust, economic and trade investment, green innovation, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, injecting impetus into a future-oriented cooperative partnership between China and Finland.

Orpo said that Finland and China share a profound traditional friendship. The bilateral relations based on mutual respect and trust have achieved long-term and steady development. Last year, the two sides jointly celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Finnish enterprises hold a strong interest in conducting cooperation in China.

Finland is the first Western country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China. Currently, Finland is China's third-largest trading partner in Northern Europe, and China has remained Finland's largest trading partner in Asia for many years.

In 2025, the trade volume between China and Finland exceeded $8 billion, and two-way investment stock surpassed $23 billion.

As a representative case of China-Finland cooperation, Finland KONE Corporation, a leading elevator and escalator company, started business in Kunshan, Jiangsu province in 1996 and after that, it built up its overseas research and development and manufacturing center there.

For the foreign-funded enterprise, Kunshan's complete industry chain and fertile business environment didn't disappoint.

"From project approval, factory construction and commissioning to the certification of a series of industry honors, Kunshan has provided efficient and practical services. KONE's initial choice of landing in Kunshan was a visionary decision," said Antti Paavola, a senior manager at KONE China.

The complementary advantages of China and Finland in the green and low-carbon field have been demonstrated by a number of projects. They are serving as models for sustainable development cooperation between the two countries.

The lithium battery material factory jointly invested by Beijing Easpring Material Technology and Finnish Minerals Group broke ground in Finland in April 2025. With a total investment of approximately 800 million euros ($960 million), the factory is scheduled to start production in 2027. With an initial annual capacity of about 60,000 metric tons, a large-scale capacity expansion will be carried out subsequently.

Innovation-driven technology has also become a new growth driver for cooperation. In November 2025, the student-led innovation organization Aalto Entrepreneurship Society (Aaltoes) headquartered in the Helsinki metropolitan area established an InnoHub innovation base in Beijing. It launched a joint robotics innovation program to promote the development of cutting-edge technologies and talent training.

In October, InnoHub (Chengdu) and the Chengdu Representative Office of the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society were launched in the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Chengdu, Sichuan province. They aim to assist the flow of technology, capital and talent, providing a platform that connects innovation resources between the two countries and supporting Finnish startups to enter the western China market.

Doni Peltoj?rvi, president of the society, said: "Western China represents a crucial node in the global innovation network. Chengdu, as a vibrant hub for technological innovation, boasts a well-established industrial ecosystem, a dynamic capital environment and forward-looking governmental support for scientific and technological collaboration.

"The fields of artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical health and other areas prioritized by the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone perfectly align with Finland's strengths in hardcore industries.

"For instance, many of the medical technologies and smart agriculture projects we've incubated can swiftly identify application scenarios and partner enterprises here."

China-Finland cooperation is not limited to economy, trade and technology. Exchanges in cultural, sports and people-to-people fields have added warmth to bilateral relations. These include winter sports cooperation forums and various sports competitions.