Prime Minister Sipilä discussed with Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China Li

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä met China’s Premier Li Keqiang in Dalian, China. They discussed the promotion of the economic relations between the countries, and three important cooperation agreements were signed in the presence of the two Premiers.

“We discussed concrete projects that we could launch based on the Joint Declaration between Finland and China, which was made in April. I told to Prime Minister Li – like to President Xi – that Finland is interested in the Chinese market and described the areas of expertise represented in the delegation of over 60 members accompanying me on the visit,” Prime Minister Sipilä said.

Prime Minister Sipilä and Prime Minister Li also brought up the significance of the cooperation between the countries in the field of justice, which has continued for over 20 years, and reiterated the importance its continuation.

Three agreements of cooperation were signed during the Premiers’ meeting:

• Memorandum of Understanding for China-Finland Energy Cooperation between the National Energy Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of the Republic of Finland
• Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in low-carbon and ecological solutions for Nanjing southern new town between the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Finland and Nanjing Municipal Government of the People’s Republic of China
• Letter of Intent for Cooperation Between Beijing Sport University and University of Jyväskylä.

Prime Minister Sipilä and Prime Minister Li met in the city of Dalian, which was the venue of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, organised by the World Economic Forum.  At one of the sessions of the Annual Meeting, Prime Minister Sipilä and Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven discussed global challenges from the Nordic perspective.

Prime Minister Sipilä had a meeting with Xu Qin, Governor of China’s Hebei Province, and Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. The province of Hebei bordering Beijing will host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games; Finnish companies are interested in the region because it is the location of a future special economic zone (SEZ).

Inquiries: Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, Special Adviser (International Affairs), tel. +358 50 343 0384 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 50 468 5302, Prime Minister’s Office.