Speaker leaves for China on 4-day official visit

​Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho will visit Beijing and Shanghai in China from April 6 to 9 at the invitation of Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said an official press release.

The delegation accompanying the Speaker includes MPs Jouni Ovaska (Chair of the Transport and Communications Committee, Centre Party Parliamentary Group) and Saara-Sofia Sirén (Chair of the Employment and Equality Committee, Parliamentary Group of the National Coalition Party).

In Beijing, the Speaker and his delegation will meet with Chairman Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Minister Liu Jianchao, International Department of the Communist Party of China.

The discussions will cover topics such as bilateral relations and parliamentary cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, EU-China relations, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, the regional situation in East Asia, and China-US relations.

In Shanghai, the focus of the discussions will be on economic cooperation. The delegation will meet with Chen Jining, Party Secretary of the Shanghai CPC Committee, and Huan Lixin, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress. The delegation will also hear from local leaders of Finnish companies about business opportunities and the business environment in China.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Finland and China, which will be celebrated during the visit.

Finland and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations and decided on the reciprocal opening of embassies in Beijing and Helsinki in the autumn of 1950.