China and Finland deepen cooperation on AI and green technology, as foreign minister continues Nordic tour
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s stop in Helsinki brought pledges of closer ties on trade, green technology and artificial intelligence, part of a week-long Nordic tour that also touched on European security.
Text by Martti Asikainen, 6.7.2026 | Photo by Lauri Heikkinen
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, in Helsinki on 5 July, with both sides voicing support for deeper cooperation on trade, the green transition and artificial intelligence. The visit was one stop on a week-long tour of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, coming at a notable moment for China–EU relations.
China is ready to work with Finland ‘in the spirit of openness and win-win cooperation’ to implement a bilateral Joint Action Plan and deepen cooperation on the green transition, scientific and technological innovation, and artificial intelligence, Mr Wang said on Sunday, according to Xinhua, China’s state news agency.
Mr Wang, who also sits on the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, made the remarks during talks with Ms Valtonen in Helsinki. He later travelled to Naantali, on Finland’s south-west coast, to meet President Alexander Stubb at Kultaranta, the president’s summer residence.
A long relationship, reaffirmed
Mr Wang noted that Finland was among the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, and the first to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with Beijing, according to Xinhua. The two countries marked 75 years of diplomatic ties in 2025.
Ms Valtonen, in a statement issued by the Finnish government ahead of the visit, described the relationship in similar terms. ‘Finland and China have long-standing, stable relations that are maintained through dialogue,’ she said. ‘China’s constructive contribution is needed in addressing topical issues facing both global security and the international economy.’
According to the Finnish government’s own account, the agenda covered bilateral relations, EU–China relations, European security, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, alongside economic cooperation. Mr Wang, according to Xinhua, said China is willing to strengthen contacts with Finland at all levels, and reiterated that Beijing appreciates Finland’s adherence to the one-China principle.
Ms Valtonen, for her part, said Finland wants to explore cooperation with China on green and low-carbon development, trade and investment, healthcare, the digital economy and climate change, and that Finland sees China as an important partner in addressing global challenges. She added that Finland hopes for constructive dialogue and concrete outcomes between the EU and China.
Part of a wider tour
Mr Wang also said China is willing to hold dialogue with the European Union on the basis of mutual respect, while noting that the EU’s trade and investment consultation mechanism should reflect that same spirit rather than serve as a tool for one-sided pressure, according to Xinhua’s account of the meeting.
The point was not directly referenced in the Finnish government’s own public statement on the talks, and Ms Valtonen’s response, if any, was not included in the Chinese state media coverage reviewed for this article.
The Helsinki meeting is one stop on a Nordic tour that began in Copenhagen on 2 July and continues through Stockholm and Oslo, concluding on 8 July, according to Helsinki Times and NordiskPost. Mr Wang is scheduled to meet Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen; Sweden’s Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, and Foreign Minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard; and Norway’s Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide.
The tour comes as the EU works towards an October deadline in its own trade discussions with China, at a time when transatlantic relations have also been evolving.
On EU–China trade dialogue
Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway have traditionally taken a measured approach to China compared with some other EU states, which makes the warmth of the welcome extended to Mr Wang, including meetings with a head of state and a head of government, all the more noteworthy.
The visit continues a broader pattern of high-level engagement between Helsinki and Beijing. Mr Stubb visited China in October 2024 and met President Xi Jinping, while Prime Minister Petteri Orpo visited China in January 2026.
Finland’s engagement with Beijing continues alongside a wider set of topics under discussion across the EU, including China’s economic ties to Russia during its war against Ukraine, competition in strategic industries, the security of undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, and reliance on Chinese supply chains.
Neither government’s public statements on the Helsinki meeting specified whether these topics featured in the discussion alongside the cooperation pledges.
