China, Finland to enhance economic ties during PM Orpo's visit: spokesperson

The Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that it expects new momentum in bilateral economic and trade cooperation with Finland during Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's official visit to China from January 25 to 28.

Regarding the bilateral trade relations, a ministry spokesperson noted that Finland is an important economic and trade partner of China in Europe and was the first European country to sign an inter-governmental trade agreement with China.

Under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, China-Finland economic and trade cooperation has seen its foundation steadily strengthened and its scope continuously expanded, the spokesperson said.

In 2025, two-way trade exceeded 8 billion U.S. dollars, while mutual investment stock surpassed 23 billion U.S. dollars, reflecting sustained enthusiasm from enterprises on both sides to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

Prime Minister Orpo will be accompanied by executives from more than 20 Finnish companies spanning machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy, food and other key sectors, highlighting Finland's strong desire to deepen economic engagement with China, according to the spokesperson.

China and Finland are also preparing for the sixth meeting of the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation, with around 50 companies expected to take part. During the visit, China's Ministry of Commerce and the Finnish side will sign a memorandum of understanding on strengthening the committee's work, while companies from both countries are set to conclude multiple commercial agreements.

These arrangements fully demonstrate that both China and Finland have the will, confidence, and capability to promote the sound and steady development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the spokesperson noted.

Looking ahead, the spokesperson stressed that the two countries enjoy strong complementarity and broad cooperation potential in green and innovation-driven development. Chinese and Finnish companies are encouraged to seize the new opportunities presented by China's ongoing high-level opening-up and to further cooperate in green transition, information technology, the digital economy and related fields.

The Ministry of Commerce expressed its readiness to work with relevant Finnish institutions to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, enhance communication on economic and trade policies, provide quality services to enterprises, and further deepen and solidify bilateral cooperation.

Syria has promised that it will not allow any entity to use its territory to undermine China's interests, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

Guo made the statements in response to a media inquiry regarding a statement from the Syrian side that the Chinese government has not yet formally requested the Syrian government to repatriate the militants of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

"The ETIM is a terrorist organization listed by the UN Security Council and designated by the Chinese government in accordance with law. Syria has pledged to not allow any entity to use the Syrian territory to engage in activities that harm China's security, sovereignty, and interests," Guo said.