Chinese and Finnish officials on Monday pledged to deepen cooperation in green transition and innovation as the two countries are complementary in the sectors.
The pledge was made at the sixth China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation Meeting held in Beijing on Monday, with the attendance of visiting Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his business delegation of more than 20 companies.
At the meeting, both sides expressed their willingness, confidence and capability to keep bilateral trade and economic cooperation on a positive trajectory.
Speaking at the meeting, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said, "At present, global development momentum in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and green transition is very strong, and our two countries have complementary strengths in these areas. China has huge market potential and rich application scenarios. Our business communities should expand cooperation in such fields as circular economy, artificial intelligence and information technology. We have always believed that the defining theme of China-Europe relations is cooperation, and the correct positioning of the relations is partner."
Also speaking at the meeting, Orpo outlined specific areas for collaboration, particularly in advanced and low-carbon industries.
"Finland and China serve many areas of common interests, which are reflected in the themes of today's Innovative Business Committee meeting, energy efficiency and low carbon solutions, the circular economy and bio-economy, transportation and logistics, industrial digitalization and food and health. Our companies which are present here today excel in these fields. My government will keep working to ensure that Finland remains a reliable trading partner and an attractive destination for investments also in the future," said Orpo. Finland is one of China's key economic and trade partners in Europe and was the first European country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China.
In 2025, bilateral trade between China and Finland exceeded 8 billion U.S. dollars, while two-way investment stock surpassed 23 billion U.S. dollars.
At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Orpo arrived in Beijing on Sunday for an official visit to China through Wednesday.
China, Finland pledge to deepen cooperation in green transition, innovation
Chinese and Finnish firms signed more than 10 cooperation agreements in Beijing on Monday, advancing joint work in innovation, green development and digitalization during the sixth meeting of the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation.
The gathering coincided with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's visit to China and drew more than 120 business representatives from both countries.
The cooperation agreements span cutting-edge sectors such as green buildings, biomedicine and digital technology, shifting beyond product manufacturing toward joint research, development and service-oriented production.
"The main thing is the access to the enormous resources here and expertise in pharmaceutical industry and also the expertise and quality of everything. It's certainly second to none," said Juha Yrjanheikki, CEO of Aurealis Therapeutics, a cell and gene therapy platform company.
"It's a major market. So, it's absolutely essential to be in China for us," said Michal Horak, vice president for Asia Pacific at the Peikko Group, a Finnish manufacturing firm.
Many Finnish entrepreneurs said they would remain in China for one or several weeks to pursue further cooperation opportunities.
"Our business in China continues to be very relevant and very important. Now we're seeing a shift to more modernization of the existing building stock as well as the digitization and this is why we are very busy developing new solutions on these fields as well," said Jussi Herlin, vice chair of board of directors of Kone Corporation, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry.
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, said a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Orpo is on an official visit to China from Sunday to Wednesday at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
Earlier, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said that Orpo is accompanied on his visit by executives of over 20 companies, spanning key Finnish sectors such as machinery, forest industry, innovation, clean energy and food, which fully demonstrates Finland's strong commitment to deepening bilateral economic and trade relations.
Chinese, Finnish enterprises sign deals as committee for innovative business cooperation meets
