Finnish Business Council Beijing

Dear Members of the Finnish Business Council Beijing,

It is a great pleasure for me to greet the members of the Finnish Business Council in Beijing and the other visitors of this website!

The Chinese Year of the Rat has unfortunately begun in difficult circumstances due to the corona virus epidemic. As I write this, the situation remains uncertain. However, the Embassy in Beijing follows the situation very closely and is at your disposal whenever needed.

At the outset of 2020, I would like to thank the members of the Business Council for the good cooperation we enjoyed last year. It was a year of important events in our bilateral relations, kicked off with a state visit by our President Sauli Niinistö, and concluded with a Finnish Winterfest to mark our Independence Day and the conclusions on the Year of Winter Sports and the Finnish EU Presidency.

Even if winter sports in many ways dominated the agenda in 2019, our work in other sectors continued at an increased pace. In fact, winter sports brought new visibility and broader scope to our cooperation with China. It advanced our goals in other sectors and created synergies. Yet, we want to emphasize that the theme year was just the beginning of the Sino-Finnish cooperation towards the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2022, and beyond.

Our bilateral partnership with China is broad and deep. An important step to intensify the cooperation was taken in 2019 when President Xi and President Niinistö adopted a Joint Action Plan on Promoting the Future-oriented New-type Cooperative Partnership for the years 2019-2023. Our partnership touches upon a broad range of issues from sustainability and innovations in the economy to important political dialogues.

This year we mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Finland and the People’s Republic of China. Our relations spanning over decades is a stepping stone that can be used to further expand the horizons of trade and business relationships between our two countries. More information on this will follow!

Finnish Business Council in Beijing is one of the closest partners of our Embassy when it comes to promoting Finland and Finnish business interests in China. For us, it is a sounding board with the Finnish companies operating here in China. Together with the other members of the Team Finland China network, we are doing our utmost to ensure that Finnish companies are given the best possible circumstances for making the most of the opportunities in the Chinese markets.

Dear FBCB members,

China remains an important trading partner for Finland. When considering the sizes of economies among European Union countries, the Finnish economy is the most reliant on China. Traditionally it was industries such as paper & pulp and machinery that set the backbone of Finnish business in China, but nowadays the spectrum includes all major Finnish strongholds such as Cleantech, Energy, Information Technology and Gaming. Whether it is a global corporation, an SME, or a startup company, China as the world’s most populous market is relevant for all. The China market is constantly evolving and, for example, during the last few years the emerging service industry has brought even more opportunities for Finnish companies.

Finnish Business Council Beijing is an association by Finnish companies for Finnish companies in the Greater Beijing Area. Our aim is to provide a platform for experience and knowledge sharing as well as networking for Finnish companies to overcome the hurdles of the China market. We organize dozens of topical events and get-togethers every year in Beijing.

Established regional focuses for the about 400 Finnish companies operating in China have been on the Eastern coast, with Beijing and Shanghai as the major Finnish business hubs. During the last few years, however, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Chongqing among others have attracted interest from Finnish companies. As a large geographical area together with a small market size in general, the key to success for a small country like Finland lies in collaboration. The FBCB together with Business Councils in Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as FinnCham in Hong Kong, represents some two thirds of Finnish companies in China. As Team Finland, comprising of the Embassy, the Consulates, and Business Finland, we aim to create new opportunities for Finnish companies in China and support the companies already operating on the market.

Whether you are considering the Chinese market, just starting your business in China or have already operated here for years, do not hesitate to contact us!

On behalf of Finnish Business Council Beijing,