Defense Minister Chang Wanquan visits Finland to strengthen military cooperation

On 4 July Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan ended his three-day official visit to Finland, which came upon the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Finland and aimed to put the significant agreements reached by President Xi Jinping and Niinisto into practice.

Wrapping up a visit to Finland aimed at boosting bilateral military cooperation, Wanquan said China is willing to strengthen military cooperation with the Nordic country.

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In a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in the western city of Naantali on Friday July 3 Chang Wanquan said that China and Finland are enjoying sound momentum in the development of their military-to-military relations. He said that the military relationship between China and Finland has gained good momentum and achieved fruitful results, and called for efforts to elevate this relationship to a higher level.

“The armed forces of the two countries have maintained frequent high-level contact, their dialogue and exchange mechanisms are running smoothly, and their cooperation in professional areas has borne rich fruit,” the minister added.

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China, he said, stands ready to work with the Finnish side to explore new forms and enrich the content of bilateral cooperation on the basis of the existing achievements and explore more cooperation, thus elevating the military relationship to a higher level.

President Niinisto, recalling that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to launch a future-oriented cooperative partnership between the two countries, pointed to new opportunities within these bilateral relations.

The Finnish president said the two countries are engaging in increasingly close cooperation in the fields of politics, diplomacy, culture and defense.

“Finland is willing to improve coordination and communication with China on such subjects as climate change and counter-terrorism, with a view to jointly safeguarding world peace and prosperity.”

Chang Wanquan also held talks with Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto on July 2. The two sides exchanged views over issues that included the bilateral military relationship and regional security situation.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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