Finland, China willing to advance military cooperation

President Sauli Niinistö met with Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of China on Friday, and they expressed interest in further strengthening bilateral military cooperation.

Finland and China has established a future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership in recent years, said Niinistö , stressing that the two countries share similar positions on global issues like free trade and climate change.

The President said Finland highly values the collaboration with China in various areas including national defense and military, and is willing to work with Chinese partners to further develop the relations between the armies of the two sides.

On his part, Fan noted that China appreciates Finland's support for and participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

He vowed to promote bilateral military cooperation based on a better synergy of the development strategies of the two countries.

Fan also held talks with Defense Minister Jussi Niinistö on Thursday, focusing on improving the military cooperation.

They agreed to facilitate high level exchanges, expertise communication and pragmatic cooperation.