Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen Monday met visiting Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu and exchanged views with him on bilateral ties and cooperation.

The Finnish-Chinese friendship has a long-standing tradition, said Vanhanen, adding that high-level exchanges between the two countries have been close and their economic and trade cooperation is constantly improved.

Finland attaches great importance to its relations with China and has been keeping a close watch on the changes and development in the country, he said.

The rapid and healthy economic development in China has provided new opportunities for Finland's industrial and commercial circles, he noted.

The Finnish government will encourage its enterprises to go and look for business opportunities in China, and Chinese companies are also welcomed to come and invest in Finland, said the prime minister.

Hui said the Sino-Finnish relations has entered a very good stage of development and their bilateral cooperation on politics, economy, science and education, as well as culture has progressed smoothly.

Finland is China's biggest trade partner in northern Europe, said Hui, adding that economies of the two countries are complementary in nature and therefore have a rosy prospect for cooperation, he said.

Finland attached much attention to environmental protection and made efforts to promote agriculture and forestry in the process of urbanization and industrialization and has realized a sustainable development, Hui said.

China should learn from their experience, he added.

The Chinese leader expressed China's willingness to keep close cooperation with Finland in a bid to boost their bilateral relations and the Sino-European ties.

Source: Xinhua