"Small and beautiful" livelihood projects become hallmark of China's foreign aid

China's commitment to investing in a number of "small and beautiful" livelihood-improvement projects have now become a hallmark of the country's foreign aid efforts, with green development assistance projects also playing a crucial role around the world, according to reports released by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

The reports are the fifth and sixth issues in the "International Development Cooperation: China's Practice" series.

As an important direction and priority of the Belt and Road development, those small-scaled, well-grounded and replicable projects aim to improve people's well-being and boost people-to-people bond in recipient countries, a report said.

A large number of "small and beautiful" projects have taken root worldwide over the years.

Examples include Tarawa bridge in Kiribati which has greatly improved local transportation, wells in Rwanda which have provided safe water to residents, and medical vehicles which have expanded service scale and scope in Panama. They demonstrate the humanistic care and kindness of China's foreign aid and international development cooperation, the report said.

Green development also becomes an important part of China's practice in international development cooperation, according to the other report.

The report showed that China has carried out 184 assistant projects in green development totaling 30 billion yuan (4.11 billion U.S. dollars), benefiting 75 countries, since 2018.

The aid, ranging from sustainable agricultural development, clean energy development to climate change response and environmental protection and pollution control, are provided through various ways including technical assistance, materials and complete sets, the report said.

Hu Zhangliang, vice-chairman of the CIDCA, said the goal of China's international development cooperation series is to help partners from all walks of life deepen their understanding of Chinese foreign aid and international development cooperation.

Speaking at the launch of China's practice on international development cooperation on Tuesday, Hu also said China will continue contributing its knowledge with partner countries to progress on the path toward modernization.

"Small and beautiful" livelihood projects become hallmark of China's foreign aid

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Sunday hailed the start of his four-day official visit to China on his social media Instagram following his arrival in Beijing.

Orpo wrote on Instagram that he is in Beijing with a Finnish business delegation aiming to "open doors to Finnish companies to strengthen Finnish exports to the Asian market".

He then expressed optimism toward the schedule during his visit, saying "Interesting days ahead!"

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Orpo is set to pay the official visit from Sunday to Wednesday.

During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with the Finnish prime minister, and Chinese Premier Li and Chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with Orpo, respectively, to conduct in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.

Orpo is accompanied by executives from more than 20 Finnish companies spanning machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy, food and other key sectors.

In 2025, bilateral trade between China and Finland exceeded eight billion U.S. dollars in value, while mutual investment stock surpassed 23 billion U.S. dollars, reflecting sustained enthusiasm of enterprises from both sides for strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation.

During Orpo's visit this time, China's Ministry of Commerce will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Finnish side on strengthening the work of the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation, and enterprises from both sides will sign a number of business cooperation agreements, said a spokesperson for the ministry.

Finnish PM hails start of his official visit to China on social media