Finnish companies sign up for 2nd CIIE

More than 100 Finnish business leaders visited the Chinese embassy in Helsinki on Wednesday for a briefing about this year's second China International Import Expo.

Ministry of Commerce Vice Minister Wang Bingnan told the gathering the CIIE aimed to promote the high-level opening-up of China to the world.

Wang said that with the joint efforts of the two governments and their economies, bilateral trade has been growing rapidly, with emerging major investment projects and new breakthroughs in connectivity.

China has been Finland's largest trading partner in Asia for 15 years in a row. 

"With a huge market of nearly 1.4 billion people and growing consumer spending, China is expected to import more than US$30 trillion in goods and US$10 trillion in services over the next 15 years, which not only gives stability and momentum to the global economy but also provides an important opportunity for the development of enterprises in various countries," Wang said.

"We hope that Finnish enterprises will actively register for the second CIIE and make full use of the import expo as an important platform for cooperation, to show their products and services and share the 'development dividends' of the Chinese market."

Jusa Susia, head of Region East Asia of Business Finland, said that at the first CIIE, Finnish enterprises had signed more than 20 cooperation agreements worth billions of dollars. 

Finland is keen to use its advantages in information and communication technology, clean energy and biology, take an active part in the second CIIE and expand cooperation with China in various fields including winter sports and early childhood education, Susia said.

At the meeting, five Finnish companies inked agreements to participate in the second CIIE: thin film maker BENEQ, handicraft company Venla-Tuote, household items firm Havina By North Oy, tool manufacturer Korpikannel 1957 Ky, and clothing business Bombus Oy. 

Appliance manufacturer Elozo Oy not only signed up for this year's CIIE, but next year's as well.

At the first CIIE, the Finnish National Pavilion was impressive with the four major themes of forest industry, clean technology, marine transportation and the energy industry. 

Eight Finnish companies, including Fortune 500 company Nokia, participated in last year's CIIE.

A high-level Finnish business delegation made up of representatives from 91 companies also attended the expo, discussing the prospects for cooperation between the two countries in fields such as communication, energy, the forest industry, maritime logistics, clean technology, and winter sports.