PM to meet with Chinese President in Beijing on Jan 27

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will make a four-day visit to China from January 25 to January 28, said a government press release on Thursday.

The Premier will meet with President of China Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang, who is hosting the official visit, and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji on January 27.

The purpose of the visit is to continue dialogue with the Chinese leadership and to promote business opportunities for Finland in China, said the press release.

Topics on the agenda for the official discussions include bilateral relations between Finland and China, relations between the China and the EU, and topical international issues.

“It is important to continue dialogue with China on bilateral cooperation and topical international issues, such as challenges in the rules-based system and trade. China is an important export market for Finnish companies and the EU’s second largest trading partner. The relationship between the EU and China must be based on reciprocity and equal market access,” said Orpo in the press release.

Finland and China have long-standing, stable relations. President Alexander Stubb made a state visit to China in October 2024, and Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho visited in April 2025.

The last Finnish prime minister to visit China was Juha Sipilä, who visited in 2017.

China is one of Finland’s most important trading partners. In 2024, Finland’s goods exports to China amounted to EUR 3.5 billion, with service exports totalling EUR 1.82 billion.

Finland’s goods imports from China, for their part, totalled EUR 7.5 billion. In 2023, there were 239 subsidiaries of Finnish companies operating in China with a turnover of just over EUR 14 billion from their business in China.

On January 26, Orpo and representatives from Finnish companies will meet with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao.

In connection with the visit, the Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation between Finland and China will organise a meeting, where Prime Minister Orpo will deliver an address.

News agency Xinhua adds: Chinese government´s spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing that Finland was among the first Western countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with China.

Guo said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state in recent years, the future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership between the two countries has been deepened, and cooperation in various fields has been steadily advanced.

China attaches great importance to the development of China-Finland relations, and stands ready to work with Finland to maintain close high-level exchanges, consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen economic and trade cooperation, promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, foster mutual understanding and collaboration in multilateral affairs, and jointly elevate bilateral relations to a new height, Guo said.