Finnish analyst Ilkka Korhonen welcomes reports of China’s economic growth in the first half of this year and to local business daily Kauppalehti, he noted that Finnish companies active in China have benefited from this positive development.
Ilkka Korhonen is head of research at the Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT) and said that the growth of the Chinese economy during the first half of 2021 was very fast. If the same rate of growth continues all through this year, China would be able to reach its official gross domestic product (GDP) growth target in real terms, he said.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China, the country’s GDP has expanded 12.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2021 as recovery continues to be firm.
Speaking on the growth, Timo Hirvonen, chief economist at Swedish bank Svenska Handelsbanken in Finland said that the growth figures matched the expectations. According to the chief economist, there were concerns in the markets about how domestic demand would develop in China, especially in services. “But the data we now have indicate that the service sector has developed well during the second quarter and industrial exports from China have also continued well,” Timo Hirvonen said.
Finnish local business daily Kauppalehti also spoke to Petri Vuorio, director for entrepreneurship, business policy, and EU affairs at the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), who said that “2021 has been a record year” for Finnish companies that operate locally on the Chinese market. He noted that Finland’s goods exports to China have increased this year by over 20 percent and that last year, exports of Finnish food products to China nearly doubled. China’s current focus on reducing emissions further improves the related Finnish industries’ business prospects there.
Confirming the Finnish companies’ positive assessment on the Chinese market was Timo Vuori, senior executive and vice president of the Finland Chamber of Commerce. Speaking on the matter he said, “The trade policy risks must be identified, but at the same time companies must be brave to benefit better from the possibilities offered by the Chinese market.” Despite the positive development, Timo Vuori said he was, however, concerned about the prospects of air traffic and tourism between Finland and China.
Source: China.org
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