President Stubb's state visit to China to focus on current security policy issues

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press release 60/2024
28 October 2024

President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb, accompanied by his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb, are on a state visit to China from 28 to 31 October 2024. The meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday 29 October will focus mainly on bilateral relations between Finland and China, Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and other current security policy and international issues.

On Tuesday morning, President Stubb will attend the launch of a concepting project between Tsinghua University in Beijing and Finnish universities of applied sciences. In the afternoon, President Stubb and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng will attend a meeting of the China-Finland Committee for
Innovative Business Cooperation, where they will both deliver remarks.

The programme will then continue with separate meetings with President Xi, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji. President Xi and his spouse Peng Liyuan will receive President Stubb and Mrs Innes-Stubb at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People. To conclude the day, President Xi and his spouse will host a welcome banquet.

On the morning of Wednesday 30 October, President Stubb will meet Chen Bo, President of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).

On Thursday 31 October, the President will visit Fudan University in Shanghai, where he will hold a lecture on the transformation of the multilateral order and talk with students. The President will also visit the Nordic Centre at Fudan University for a discussion with experts in the field of international studies.

After the discussion, the President Stubb will meet Chen Jining, Party Secretary of Shanghai.

In the afternoon, the President will attend a business summit where Finnish and Chinese companies will exchange experiences and discuss business and investment opportunities in China and Finland. The summit is organised in cooperation with the Consulate General of Finland in Shanghai, Business Finland and the Confederation of Finnish Industries.

At the end of the day, the Presidential couple will attend a reception hosted by the Consul General of Finland in Shanghai to mark the state visit.

The Finnish Government and Parliament are represented by Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkänen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah, Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen, Member of Parliament, Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with China Ville Skinnari and Member of Parliament, Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with China Sakari Puisto. The President is also accompanied by a Finnish business delegation with representatives from a wide range of business sectors.

Suzanne Innes-Stubb, the spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland, will have a separate programme in addition to the joint programme of the presidential couple. In Beijing, she will meet with President Xi's spouse Peng Liyuan among others on Tuesday and students from the Xingzhi School in Shanghai on Thursday.

Former President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö and his spouse Jenni Haukio last paid a state visit to China in 2019. The last state visit to Finland by President Xi and his spouse Peng Liyuan was in 2017.