Promoting the Steady and Sustained Growth of China-Finland Economic and Trade Cooperation From a New Starting Point

This year marks the 76th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Finland. Over the past seven decades and more, China and Finland have always adhered to the spirit of mutual respect, openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, setting a fine example of state-to-state relations that transcend historical, cultural and institutional differences that promote exchanges on an equal footing. Stable economic and trade cooperation has also delivered tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries. At present, with the international landscape undergoing profound and complex changes and unilateralism resurging, the international order and the stability of global industrial and supply chains are suffering severe impact, and the economic and trade cooperation among economies is confronting numerous challenges. The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan adopted recently at China's "Two Sessions" charts a clear course for China's economic development in the next five years, underscoring that China will continue to pursue high-quality development and expand high-standard opening up. That brings abundant opportunities to countries around the world including Finland. From such a new starting point, bright prospects and vast potentials can be seen for China-Finland economic and trade cooperation.

I. The Strong Foundation of China-Finland Economic and Trade Cooperation Provide a Solid Basis for the Two Countries to Join Hands in Moving Toward the Future

In 1953, China and Finland signed an intergovernmental trade agreement, the first such agreement between China and a Western country. For seven decades and more, under the strategic guidance of leaders of both countries, economic and trade cooperation has consistently served as the anchor of China-Finland relations. Our two countries have all along adhered to the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, promoting and making continuous achievements in our economic and trade cooperation, despite the changes in the international landscape and market fluctuations, and achieved steady and new progress in practical cooperation. In recent years, bilateral trade in goods between China and Finland has remained at a high level of over USD 8 billion, while two-way investment stock has exceeded USD 23 billion. As of 2025, China has remained Finland’s largest trading partner in Asia for 23 consecutive years. Products such as pulp, machinery and equipment and electronic devices have been flowing through the ports of the two countries extensively, integrating into a wide range of industries and countless households; two-way investment in fields such as advanced manufacturing and green and low-carbon development has also yielded fruitful results, continuously contributing to the economic and social development of both countries and enhancing the well-being of their peoples. For seven decades and more, thanks to the fact that both countries have all along been promoters of economic globalization and free trade, that both countries are the staunch defenders and supporters of WTO, and that the bilateral cooperation have all along been mutually beneficial and win-win to serve the interests of both peoples, a solid foundation with remarkable resilience have been laid for China-Finland economic and trade relations. These hard-won achievements are well worth cherishing.

In October 2024 during Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s state visit to China, President Xi Jinping held talks with him, and the two parties also issued the Joint Action Plan between China and Finland on Promoting the Future-oriented New-type Cooperative Partnership 2025-2029, setting new direction for our bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields. In April 2025 and January 2026, Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of Finland also visited China successively, held talks and meetings with Chinese leaders and reached many consensus, thus further highlighting the aspirations of the two countries to deepen economic and trade relations. Looking ahead, China and Finland enjoy strong complementarity and vast potential in green transition and innovation cooperation. China stands ready to work with Finland to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, stay true to the original aspirations of our diplomatic ties, uphold the philosophy for mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, so as to further advance the sustained, sound and steady development of the China-Finland future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership for the new chapter of the next seven decades.

II. The Grand Blueprint of Chinese Modernization Injects Strong Certainty and Stability into China-Finland Cooperation

The scientific formulation and implementation of five-year plans is the key to the success of "China's governance" while serving as a list of opportunities for Finland and other countries around the world. Since 1953, through the consecutive implementation of fourteen five-year plans, China has developed into the world's largest manufacturing country, second-largest economy, and a major engine of global economic growth, with its GDP growing from US$26 billion to approximately US$20 trillion over time. Over the past five years, China's economy has grown at an average annual rate of 5.4%, significantly higher than the global average growth rate, and its contribution to world economic growth has remained at around 30%, exceeding that of the G7 nations combined. Over the past two years, while globally many regions have been affected by conflicts leading to rising instability and uncertainty, China, committed to peace and stability and standing out for a long-term secure environment for development and predictable policies, has thus been serving as an anchor of stability and a haven for global development. China’s newly released 15th Five-Year Plan sets out 20 main indicators, 16 strategic tasks, and 109 major projects in five areas, while maintaining a strategic focus on expanding domestic demand, also advances high-quality development and expands high-standard opening up, creating broader space and stronger momentum for China–Finland economic and trade cooperation.

Some recent claims that China’s economy has “peaked” or is “losing its demographic dividend” are simply rehashing old rhetoric that basically misread China’s development logic. In fact, China has already entered a stage of high-quality development focusing on improving quality and achieving appropriate growth. The GDP growth target of 4.5–5% set by the Chinese government for 2026 is a good reflection of both an objective assessment of challenges and room for structural adjustment, risk prevention and reform. By aligning with China’s long-term goals toward 2035, it took into account both the present and the long run. Judging China’s economy by short-term fluctuations in a single indicator will inevitably lead to misinterpretation.

China has a population of over 1.4 billion, including 851 million labor population aged 16-59, far exceeding the labor force amount of major developed economies in Europe and the United States combined. The population and labor force in such a size provides both a solid foundation for Chinese domestic economic growth and a super-scale market for global enterprises including those from Finland. Meanwhile, with average years of education received for the labor force age group has reaching 11.3, and 10.797 million R&D personnel and over 5 million graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics(STEM) annually, China is placed first globally in terms of total research staffing and talent resources, underpinning its scientific and technological innovation. Over the past five years, R&D spending has grown at an average annual rate of 10%, and high-value invention patents per 10,000 people have reached 16. The 2025 Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organization ranked China 10th globally, demonstrating China’s shift from a quantity-based demographic dividend to a quality-based talent dividend.

Facts have repeatedly shown that the stability of the Chinese economy and the predictability of its policies does not change merely because some external “filters” were set deliberately on it. Progressing from abject poverty and weakness to what it is today, China has overcomed numerous difficulties and challenges. As it did not collapse under the so-called “China collapse theory”, by the same token, it will not “peak” under the so-called “China peak theory”. And continuous advancement of Chinese modernization, especially its sustained economic and social development, will bring greater certainty and stability to China–Finland cooperation.

III. China’s Deep-rooted Commitment to Opening Up Creates More Opportunities for Finnish Businesses and Helps Accelerate Europe’s Green Transition.

Opening up is China’s basic state policy, and open cooperation and free trade are also upheld by Finland consistently. China is now a major trading partner for over 160 countries and regions and has concluded 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries and regions. It has eliminated all access restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector and established 23 pilot free trade zones. The newly revised Foreign Trade Law of China has entered into force, introducing a negative list management system for cross-border trade in services, and the Hainan Free Trade Port has begun island-wide customs operations. These measures have created a sound business environment for cooperation with China. Over the past five years, 229,000 new foreign-invested enterprises have been established in China, with a notable rise in regional headquarters and R&D centers of multinationals. In the first two months of this year alone, 8,631 foreign-invested enterprises were set up, a 14% year on year growth. These facts again prove that as uncertainty becomes the “new normal” in the global economy, foreign companies are voting “with their feet” for China’s resilience and market opportunities, fostering a broad international consensus “partnering with China means embracing opportunities”.

In recent years, Finnish companies have generally maintained positive on China’s development prospects. Leading firms such as KONE and Metso have continued to step up their investment in China, achieving solid returns. At the same time, Chinese companies including BYD and Easpring Material Technology have established their operations in Finland, contributing to Finland’s 2035 carbon-neutrality goal. Business communities from both countries have shown strong enthusiasm for bringing each other closer and expanding two-way cooperation. Regrettably, however, while foreign investors are broadly optimistic about China’s prospects and Chinese products are contributing to green transition in Europe, the European Commission has proposed drafted legislation, including draft revisions to the Cybersecurity Act and the Industrial Accelerator Act that are strongly targeted in essence. These propositions though not naming China explicitly, are widely seen as aiming to restrict or exclude Chinese companies and equipment while hyping up the “China overcapacity” narrative. Such moves amount to erecting barriers and practicing protectionism, which is neither conducive to the economic and social development of EU member states such as Finland nor is in the interests of China–Finland, China–EU cooperation, and the well-being of their peoples.

In fact, the “overcapacity” per se is a false proposition that deviates from basic supply–demand logic and market rules. With production and consumption now global, supply and demand must be matched and balanced from a global perspective, otherwise, if countries produced only for their domestic markets, cross-border trade would not be there.

Take the new energy vehicle（NEV）as an example, on the one hand, global capacity in green sectors remains relatively insufficient and still needs to be expanded substantially. According to predictions from the International Energy Agency, global NEV needs could reach 45 million by 2030, roughly threefold compared to the 2023 sales level; that is why China’s new energy products are providing a timely boost to the global green transition and industrial upgrading. On the other hand, developed economies such as the United States, the EU and Japan have long been exporting large volumes of their competitive products to global markets. For example, about 80% of U.S.-produced chips are exported, while nearly 80% of automobiles produced in Germany and around 50% of those produced in Japan are sold overseas. A substantial share of aircraft manufactured by Airbus and Boeing is also destined for export. By contrast, China’s NEV exports in 2025 accounted for only about 15.7% of its total production. If exports of competitive products by developed countries are regarded as normal and legitimate, whereas those of emerging economies such as China are labeled as “overcapacity,” that would be clearly self-contradictory and a move of double standard.

Facts have shown that interdependence is not a risk, that open cooperation does not undermine economic security, that protectionism only ends up isolating oneself, and suppressing competition only weakens one’s own competitiveness. Finland enjoys advantage in innovation in ICT, healthcare and the green transition, and China offers a vast market and a strong manufacturing base, the two countries are highly complementary in terms of economic structure, technology, mass production, etc. From the new starting point, China will continue to expand high-standard opening up, further broaden market access and open up more fields with a focus on the services sector, and further advance pilot opening-up programs in areas such as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals. A more open and innovation-driven China will create greater high-standard opportunities for global partners including Finland. It is hoped that the business entrepreneurs from both countries could uphold openness and inclusiveness, seize the opportunities in green transition and blaze new trails in innovation-driven development, so as to further deepen China-Finland win-win cooperation, with these efforts, more stability and certainty will be injected into the economies of both countries and the world at large. By creating better future together, China and Finland will deliver greater benefits to themselves, their peoples, and Chinese and European peoples at large.

Notes: The writer is the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Finland. The article is a collaborating content by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Finland.