2010-03-26 10:27

HELSINKI/MINSK: Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Finland Thursday afternoon for an official visit after his tour in Belarus.

In a written statement distributed to the press upon his arrival in Helsinki, Xi said Sino-Finnish relations, built on mutual trust and substantiated with practical cooperation, have been stable and healthy ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations 60 years ago.

As Sino-Finnish friendship conforms with the fundamental interests of the two peoples, China attaches great importance to developing its relations with Finland and is willing to lift their friendly and cooperative ties to a higher level, Xi said.

The Chinese leader said he is looking forward to discussing with Finnish leaders the prospects of bilateral relations and exchanging views with them on major international issues of common concern.

During his three-day stay in Finland, Xi is expected to meet Finnish President Tarja Halonen, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Parliament Speaker Sauli Niinisto.

Earlier in the day in Minsk, Xi held separate talks with Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky and parliament speakers over bilateral relations and efforts to further exchanges between the legislatures of the two countries.

"Developing good relationship with Belarus is a policy that China highly values and will never change, regardless of the fluctuation of international and regional situations," Xi told Belarusian Prime Minister Sidorsky.

Economic cooperation is an important component of Sino-Belarusian strategic cooperation, which has expanded from commercial trade to economic and technological cooperation, he said.

Xi urged China and Belarus to draw on each other's comparative advantages and explore new growth areas such as technological cooperation.

Sidorsky, for his part, spoke highly of the intensified cooperation between the two countries in recent years in economy, science, energy and in other fields.

Sidorsky thanked China for its help in Belarusian economic and social development, expressing confidence that Xi's visit would add new momentum to the development of the friendly cooperative relationship between the two countries.

After their meeting, Xi and Sidorsky witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation agreements between financial institutions and enterprises from both countries, with a total worth of 3.4 billion US dollars.

Xi met with Belarusian parliament upper house chairman Boris Batura and lower house leader Vladimir Andreichenko after talks with Sidorsky.

Increased exchanges between the legislatures of China and Belarus are conducive to enhancing the understanding and friendship between the two peoples and consolidating the foundation for good bilateral ties, Xi said.

Since diplomatic ties were established 18 years ago, China and Belarus, as good friends and partners, have always supported each other and cooperated closely, said Xi.

On Sino-Belarusian relations, Xi said that the two countries have conducted successful cooperation in economics and trade, science and technology, military technology and culture, while people-to-people exchanges have also flourished.

The two sides hold similar or identical stances on a series of major international and regional issues, and have maintained close connections and coordination, he added.

Xi called on both sides to step up exchanges between legislatures of various levels and make greater efforts to promote bilateral relations.

He also expressed the hope that the Chinese and Belarusian legislatures can play a positive role in promoting exchanges and cooperation between the local governments and enterprises of both countries.

Batura pledged to work closely with the Chinese side, particularly the National People's Congress, to implement the strategic consensus reached and a series of cooperation documents signed during Xi's visit.

Andreichenko described China as Belarus' best friend and partner. ?It is the unswerving policy of the Belarusian government and parliament to strengthen friendly cooperation with China, and both countries should continue to support each other on issues of core interests, he said.

Xi met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.

The Chinese vice president is on a two-week, four-nation European tour. He had visited Russia before his tour in Belarus. After his visit to Finland, Xi will go to neighboring Sweden.