Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive in Helsinki, Finland, April 4, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here Tuesday for a state visit to Finland. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
China and Finland have enjoyed long-term friendship and cooperation.
Finland was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, and the first Western nation to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China.
Currently, Finland is China's third largest trading partner in the Nordic region, while China has been Finland's biggest trading partner in Asia for 14 years.
The two countries upgraded their ties to a future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership in 2013, when Niinisto paid a state visit to China.
The two sides have cooperated in areas such as high technology, clean energy, innovation and Arctic research, and further cooperation on winter sports is expected as China will host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Xi's visit to Finland is his first trip to a European Union member state this year, and also his first visit to the Nordic region as president.
"The visit will strengthen bilateral ties, promote cooperation between China and Northern Europe, and foster China-Europe partnerships for peace, growth, reform and civilization," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Chao told reporters ahead of Xi's trip.
After Finland, the Chinese president will travel to Florida, the United States, for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday and Friday.
That will be the first meeting between Xi and Trump as the heads of state of the two biggest economies in the world.
