China Finland Photo: VCG

China remains an important market for Finnish businesses, said Juha Tuominen, chairman of FinnCham China Beijing, giving examples of the high complementarity between businesses of the two countries in wide sectors such as green energy, innovation, healthcare and sports.

The remarks were made in an exclusive interview with the Global Times as the Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is paying an official visit to China from Sunday to Wednesday at invitation.

Talking about the expectations for the visit in terms of its potential to boost bilateral economic and trade ties, the Finnish chamber head mentioned that the two countries share a long history of stable and constructive relations, with last year just marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. High-level exchanges, including visits by Finland's President Alexander Stubb to China in October 2024, Speaker of the Finnish parliament Jussi Halla-aho to China in last April and now the Prime Minister, all underlined the importance of continued dialogue with China, its major trading partner, according to Tuominen.

"I expect this visit to further strengthen economic and business discussions, creating opportunities for practical cooperation between companies, especially through platforms such as the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation," which will hold its sixth meeting during the visit, said Tuominen.

According to a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday in responding to media questions on the bilateral economic and trade relations, it is understood that the Finnish Prime Minister will be accompanied by executives from more than 20 companies, spanning Finland's strengths in machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy and food, underscoring Finland's strong commitment to deepening bilateral economic and trade relations, said the spokesperson.

As a business veteran with many years of living and working in China, Tuominen understands the importance of the Chinese market to Finnish businesses, as well as the high complementarity between the two sides in economic fields.

"China remains an important market for Finnish businesses. Finland is a leading country in innovation, and our long-standing strengths in industries such as paper & pulp, machinery and ICT have played a strong role in Finland-China economic relations for decades," Tuominen said.

Tuominen's words did not come out of blue. According to the MOFCOM, in 2025, China-Finland bilateral trade exceeded $8 billion, while two-way investment stock topped $23 billion. Companies in both countries have maintained strong enthusiasm for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.

Today, however, the strongest potential for further collaboration is closely linked to sustainability and China's goal of carbon neutrality, said Tuominen, noting "this makes areas such as clean technologies, circular economy solutions, energy efficiency, and low-carbon industrial processes particularly promising for Finnish companies seeking to expand their presence in China. These strengths align well with China's long-term development objectives," he said.

In addition to sustainability, health and wellbeing represent important areas for future cooperation. The Finnish chamber head highlighted that sectors such as healthcare technology, winter sports, and sports technology more broadly offer strong potential for deeper collaboration. "These are also areas where Finland could benefit from increased investment and partnership with Chinese companies, supporting innovation, growth, and mutual value creation in both markets," he said.

Juha Tuominen, chairman of FinnCham China Beijing Photo: Courtesy of Juha Tuominen

This year marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), which advocates further opening-up. At a time when the global economy is facing rising unilateralism, the Finnish business representative noted that "China's commitment to opening-up is an important development direction."

Finnish companies welcome concrete measures (from the Chinese government) such as the shortening of the negative list and the further opening of the services sector, including digital platforms and healthcare, Tuominen said. "These developments can create new opportunities, especially for Finnish companies active in sustainability, circular economy, and advanced technologies," he said, noting that the Finnish business community looks forward to seeing these efforts being further implemented and developed during the next five-year period.