According to the Finnish Government, Wang will meet Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen before holding talks with President Alexander Stubb in Helsinki. The agenda includes Finland-China relations, EU-China relations, European security and the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The Finnish Government said the ministers will discuss bilateral relations alongside current foreign and security policy matters. It also published a statement from Valtonen, who said Finland and China have “long-standing, stable relations” and that China has an important role in global security and the international economy.
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Wang’s wider Nordic tour, which runs from 2 to 8 July. Besides Finland, he will visit Denmark, Sweden and Norway at the invitation of their foreign ministers.
The visit follows a steady increase in diplomatic exchanges between Finland and China.
President Alexander Stubb made a state visit to China in October 2024, where he met President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders. The talks covered bilateral cooperation, trade, climate policy and the situation in Ukraine. The visit also marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and China.
In April 2025, Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho travelled to China, continuing high-level political contacts between Helsinki and Beijing.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo visited Beijing from 25 to 28 January, becoming the first Finnish prime minister to visit China since Juha Sipilä’s trip in 2017. Orpo met Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji while leading a delegation that included representatives from more than 20 Finnish companies.
The Finnish Government said the purpose of Orpo’s visit was to continue dialogue with the Chinese leadership while promoting business opportunities for Finnish companies. Discussions covered bilateral relations, EU-China relations, trade, market access and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“It is important to continue dialogue with China on bilateral cooperation and topical international issues, such as challenges in the rules-based system and trade. China is an important export market for Finnish companies and the EU’s second largest trading partner. The relationship between the EU and China must be based on reciprocity and equal market access,” Orpo said before departing for Beijing.
During the visit, Orpo also met China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao alongside representatives of Finnish businesses. According to the Finnish Government, Finland exported €3.5 billion in goods and €1.82 billion in services to China in 2024, while imports from China reached €7.5 billion. Finnish companies also operated 239 subsidiaries in China with combined turnover exceeding €14 billion in 2023.
China also described the visit as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties. Xi Jinping said China hoped Finland would play a constructive role in promoting stable relations between China and the European Union, while Orpo said constructive EU-China relations were important and that Finland supported continued dialogue between Brussels and Beijing.
The increase in Finnish engagement mirrors wider contacts between China and the European Union.
Senior EU leaders travelled to Beijing for the EU-China Summit, where European Council President António Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas met Xi Jinping and Li Qiang. The summit marked 50 years of diplomatic relations between the European Union and China and focused on trade, investment, Ukraine, climate policy and global security.
The meetings followed earlier visits by European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and von der Leyen in 2023, when both sides sought direct discussions with Xi over Ukraine, trade and strategic relations.
The growing number of exchanges reflects a shift from the period after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when contacts between Europe and China became less frequent and disputes over trade, technology and Beijing’s relationship with Moscow dominated the agenda.
While differences remain over industrial subsidies, electric vehicle tariffs, market access and China’s relationship with Russia, both sides have continued diplomatic engagement.
The European Union has described its approach towards China as one of reducing strategic risks rather than ending economic ties. European leaders have continued to seek cooperation on trade, climate policy and international security while pressing Beijing for greater reciprocity and fairer access to Chinese markets.
Finland has increasingly aligned its China policy with that broader European approach.
Since joining NATO in 2023, Finnish foreign policy has placed greater emphasis on security cooperation with European and transatlantic partners. At the same time, Helsinki has maintained diplomatic and economic engagement with major Asian economies, including China.
The sequence of visits by Stubb, Halla-aho, Orpo and now Wang points to sustained political contact between Helsinki and Beijing despite differences over security issues.
It also reflects a broader rebalancing of foreign policy across Europe.
Rather than reducing contacts with China, many European governments have sought to combine stronger security cooperation within NATO and the European Union with continued political dialogue and economic engagement with Beijing. The objective has been to reduce strategic dependencies while preserving trade, investment and diplomatic channels.
Wang’s Helsinki programme reflects that approach.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is expected to feature prominently during discussions alongside European security, both central issues for Finland since joining NATO. The Middle East will also form part of the talks as international attention remains focused on regional conflicts.
The inclusion of EU-China relations alongside bilateral issues underlines Finland’s role within the European Union’s wider engagement with Beijing.
Wang’s Nordic tour also signals China’s interest in maintaining dialogue across Northern Europe, with meetings planned in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo during the six-day visit.
Although no agreements have been announced before Wang’s arrival, the visit adds another high-level exchange to a growing list of meetings between Chinese, Finnish and European leaders over the past two years.
HT