Finland is willing to further deepen cooperation with China in various fields and facilitate the development of relations between China and the European Union (EU), Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Vanhanen, whose country is currently holding the EU's rotating presidency, said he was looking forward to his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao's visit on Sept. 9-12.

He spoke highly of the friendly ties between Finland and China, saying the two countries are enjoying a sound relationship.

Finland is one of the Western countries that have established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China for a long time, Vanhanen said, adding that the development of bilateral relations began to gather a good momentum in the 1980s, when China carried out the policy of reform and opening-up.

Since the 1990s, more and more Finnish enterprises have entered China, and in the meantime, leaders of both countries have frequently exchanged visits, further boosting bilateral ties, he said.

Vanhanen said that with Finland's accession to the EU in 1995 and China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the two sides further broadened their fields of cooperation.

Finland is willing to participate in and benefit from China's rapid economic development, said the prime minister.

Finland could share with China its advanced technology and rich experience in environmental protection, construction and energy saving, he said.

Besides the fields with direct linkage to economy, the two sides could also cooperate in labor protection, Vanhanen said, adding that Finland and China signed an agreement of cooperation regarding this in April of this year.

Finland would continue to carry out and strengthen its decade-long cooperation with China in the judicial field in light of the new challenges facing the two countries, he said.

As for the EU-China relations, Vanhanen said the two sides have made great headway in the development of their ties, especially in the fields of trade and economy.

He said his country would make every effort to advance the cooperation between the EU and China in a satisfying way for both sides.

The prime minister said he hoped that the EU and China could hold high-level dialogues on important issues at any time.

During its EU rotating presidency, Finland would try to deepen the dialogues between the two sides and further consolidate their cooperation, Vanhanen said.

Premier Wen will leave for the Finnish capital of Helsinki on Saturday to attend the ninth China-EU Summit and the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and pay an official visit to the country.

According to Vanhanen, heads of state or government from 13 Asian countries and 25 member states of the EU will attend the ASEM summit here on Sept. 10-11.

The gathering will be the largest ever international meeting hosted by Finland, he said, adding that participants would discuss issues of common concern and ways to boost the process of the summit.

Source: Xinhua