Finland’s leader set for 4-day China visit as Europe seeks to counter Trump pressure
Petteri Orpo to lead executives from more than 20 companies in first China visit by a Finnish prime minister since 2017
Finland’s prime minister begins a four-day visit to China on Sunday, heading a large business delegation on a trip designed to forge closer ties with Beijing amid pressure from coercive US policies.
Observers expect cooperation to largely focus on low-risk areas such as green technology and climate-related projects, but warn that geopolitics – particularly involving US-EU ties and Europe’s growing security concerns – are likely to limit any breakthroughs.
Orpo will be the second EU leader to visit China in three weeks – following Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin’s trip in early January – and the first Finnish prime minister to do so since 2017.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb paid a state visit to China in October 2024.
Orpo’s trip also comes days after a visit by Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, when the fellow Nato member struck a broad deal with Beijing to cut tariffs and restore ties following years of hostility.
US President Donald Trump’s criticism of traditional Nato allies and fixation on seizing Greenland from Denmark have deepened rifts within the transatlantic alliance and drawn fierce condemnation from Washington’s closest partners, including EU leaders.
Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on goods from at least eight European countries – including Denmark and Finland – over his demand to acquire Greenland. He later backed down on those threats.
Ding Chun, director of the Centre for European Studies at Fudan University, said Finland could play a limited “bridge” role in China-Europe relations, citing its active participation in European affairs and interest in economic cooperation with Beijing.
Ahead of his visit, Orpo emphasised the need to keep talking to China. “Continuing dialogue with China on bilateral cooperation and current global issues is crucial, including challenges related to the rules-based system and trade,” he was quoted as saying in a Finnish government statement on Thursday.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, he will be leading executives from more than 20 Finnish companies in machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy and food industries.
EU relations with China, an important export market for Finnish companies and the bloc’s second-largest trading partner, “must be based on reciprocity and equal market access”, Orpo said.
James Downes, co-director of the Centre for Research and Social Progress, an Italy-based think tank, said the visit “reflects China’s push for bilateral ties to soften EU-wide scrutiny”.
It also highlighted Finland’s interest in economic stability and supply chain resilience, Downes said, noting that it had sought to balance EU-level China “de-risking” with selective engagement with Beijing.
Trade between Finland and China exceeded US$8 billion in 2025, according to official data.
Song Luzheng, a researcher at Fudan University’s China Institute, said ties had long been marked by a degree of independence.
“Finland’s relations with China have not been overly affected by China’s ties with other major powers,” Song said, pointing to Helsinki’s decision to abstain in a 2024 EU consultative vote on imposing provisional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
However, analysts highlighted clear limits on cooperation – particularly on security-related issues.
Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, said that, “despite growing European scepticism towards the US, Finland will have limited room to work with China on any issue involving security risks, especially given the ongoing threat from Russia”.
He said the coming talks were likely to focus on trade and innovation rather than geopolitics.
Song also felt that Orpo’s visit would mainly focus on economic cooperation. Finland’s ability to influence broader China-EU ties remained limited, he said, as those were heavily shaped by external factors such as US-China and US-EU relations.
Finland’s accession to Nato had further narrowed space for security cooperation with China, Song added.
During the Cold War, Finland pursued a policy of military non-alignment. But following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, domestic support for Nato membership surged, leading to Finland’s formal accession in April 2023.
“In the past, China and Finland could cooperate on security-related issues,” Song said. “But after Finland joined Nato, such cooperation has been inevitably constrained.”
Nonetheless, several observers agreed that there was ample room for collaboration in non-security areas.
Ding at Fudan pointed to potential cooperation in Arctic shipping routes, climate observation and environmental protection – areas where Finland has expertise and where its interests overlap with China’s.
China dominated the manufacturing of green energy equipment, while Finland possessed advanced technologies in energy efficiency, heating systems and the circular economy, noted Xu Tianchen of the Economist Intelligence Unit, highlighting possible synergy.
However, Downes cautioned that while Finland and China had shared interests in Arctic-related cooperation, “US-led efforts to counter China-Russia influence, combined with Finland’s Nato role, make expectations for breakthroughs unrealistic”.
“The most we should expect are modest green technology deals or limited research cooperation.”
Downes added that the visit illustrated the tension between national pragmatism and EU unity, with smaller member states seeking limited engagement with China even as the 27-nation bloc adopted a more cautious, coordinated approach.
“It is very unlikely that this visit will reshape broader EU-China relations,” he said.
Song described China’s approach towards Europe as “subtraction with the EU and addition with individual countries”, meaning Beijing sought to prevent hostile EU-wide measures while pursuing practical cooperation with willing member states, such as Finland.
“From that perspective, Finland has its significance.”