China and Finland to set up mutual culture centers

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong meets with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the presidential palace in Helsinki, Finland. [Photo/Xinhua]

In a three-day visit to Finland, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong met with Finnish leaders, and attended the opening ceremony of Focus China, an extensive showcase of Chinese arts and culture during the 40-year-old Helsinki Festival.

Liu's visit coincides with the 65th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relationship between Finland and China. On June 12, she met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Prime Minister Juha Sipila and Speaker of the Parliament Maria Lohela respectively in Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

In the meeting with Niinisto, Liu said Finland was one of the first western countries that recognized the People's Republic of China when it was established in 1949, and the bilateral partnership has set an example for countries with different national conditions and social systems to develop their cooperation.

She emphasized that China and Finland kept a foothold on strategy, looked forward to the future, developed on good terms with each other, expanded the breadth and depth in their cooperation in various fields, and achieved fruitful results in the field of cultural exchange in the past 65 years.

Liu also stressed that her visit to Finland aimed to implement a new, future-oriented cooperative partnership, proposed by Niinisto and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. She hoped the two countries will strengthen policy coordination, and combine the mutual cooperation with China's new "Four Modernizations", The Belt and Road Initiative as well as the construction of a pilot free trade zone.

Niinisto said one of the important reasons for the steady cooperation is mutual respect between the two countries. He said Finland is willing to contribute to The Belt and Road Initiative launched by China.

Sipila appreciated the new future-oriented cooperative partnership. He hoped the two countries will strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, research and development, clean technology, environmental protection and medical services.