Headers pledge further cooperation in run-up to crucial Florida meeting with US President Trump

Connectivity, the green economy and winter sports were major highlights of President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to Finland.

Xi's visit to Finland was his first trip to a European Union member state this year, and also his first visit to the Nordic region as president. It is also the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Finland in 22 years.

After Xi's talk with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, on April 5 in Helsinki, the two sides issued a joint statement about establishing and promoting a future-oriented new type of cooperative partnership.

Both sides agreed to enhance political trust and intergovernmental and legislative exchanges, and to promote mutual investment and pragmatic cooperation in fields including innovation-driven sectors, according to the statement.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperative documents covering innovation, the judiciary and joint research on the giant panda.

Finland was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with China, and China has been Finland's biggest trading partner in Asia for 14 years.

During their talk, Xi said that China and Finland "are good friends and partners who respect each other, treat each other as equals and enjoy mutually beneficial cooperation".

Niinisto said Finland is ready to deepen cooperation in economics and trade, investment, innovation, environmental protection, tourism, winter sports and Arctic affairs, as well as supporting the Belt and Road Initiative.

During the talk, the two sides agreed to strengthen links in development planning and to discuss cooperation within the framework of the initiative. They also agreed to jointly promote the interconnectivity of Eurasia.

Chen Li, Chinese ambassador to Finland, noted that Finland is located at the northwestern margin of Belt and Road routes, and it enjoys many strengths that arise from its geographical location in the Baltic Sea region, along with its technologies, resources and talent.

The two sides are discussing more tangible cooperation within the framework to boost Eurasian connectivity, Chen said in an interview with China News Service.

Ecology was another major agenda item for cooperation during Xi's visit, as both countries also agreed to promote cooperation in fields such as the circular economy, efficiency of resource utilization, sustainable development, environmental protection, new types of urbanization and green, smart cities.

Chen Mingming, former Chinese ambassador to Sweden, notes that Finland has been known for its innovation-driven economy, and both countries are complimentary on economic fronts.

"China is undergoing a critical phase involving transformation, upgrading and innovation-driven development," Chen says, adding that there are many areas of huge potential for two-way cooperation.

Because China will host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the two sides agreed to cooperate more in winter sports and Winter Olympics preparations.

The two sides will launch a China-Finland Year of Winter Sports in 2019.

On April 5, in the evening, Xi and Niinisto met skaters' representatives from the two countries. The athletes had just attended the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships, which ran from March 29 to April 2 in Helsinki.

On China-EU ties, the two sides said they will commit themselves to building the China-EU partnership, promoting the implementation of the China-EU 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation and boosting Sino-Nordic cooperation.

Zhen Jianguo, former Chinese ambassador to Denmark, noted that Finland is also a member of EU, and Xi's visit "reaffirms China's lasting, staunch support to the integration process of Europe".

The trip signals that "China is a reliable partner and trustworthy partner of Europe", Zhen says, and "supporting the integration of Europe is beneficial to the development of both China and the EU".

After leaving Finland, Xi traveled to the United States to meet US President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-logo resort in Florida on April 6 and 7.

It is the first meeting between Xi and Trump since the latter took office on Jan 20.

Su Ge, president of the China Institute of International Studies, says ahead of the meeting that it was likely to produce "top-level designs for ties between the two major countries", seek common interests and chart a course for the bilateral ties.

"Setting the direction will be paramount to the China-US relationship, as well as the peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region," Su says.

Su Xiaohui, an international strategy researcher at the CIIS, noted that the Florida resort provides a relaxing atmosphere that can help boost mutual understanding.

The Trump administration is unlikely to entirely break from the bilateral channels for dialogue established by the Obama administration, but new channels could emerge in the future, Su says.

"It is fully natural to see differing views. The key is to exercise effective control and management."

Xinhua contributed to this story.

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