China, Finland to sign cooperative deals, boost ties

　　China and Finland will sign a host of cooperative deals and chart the future direction of bilateral ties during Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Finland, a vice foreign minister said Friday.

　　Vice Foreign Minister Wang Chao said that Xi's state visit to Finland from April 4 to 6, at the invitation of his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto, is Xi's first visit to Northern Europe as China's head of state.

　　Finland was one of the first western countries to establish diplomatic ties with China and the first western country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China.

　　"Sino-Finnish relations have enjoyed good growth over the past few years," Wang said, adding that the two sides had cooperated in areas such as high technology, clean energy, innovation and Arctic research, and further cooperation on winter sports is expected as China will host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

　　Xi will hold talks with Niinisto, attend a welcoming ceremony, attend a signing ceremony, meet with the press and attend a welcoming banquet. He will also meet senior leaders including Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila and Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Maria Lohela to discuss bilateral ties, China-EU relations, as well as regional and international issues of common concern, according to Wang.

　　In 2013, Xi and Niinisto reached importance consensus on building and promoting a future-oriented new type of partnership between the two countries.

　　"The visit will strengthen bilateral ties, promote cooperation between China and Northern Europe, and foster China-Europe partnerships for peace, growth, reform and civilization," he said.