Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho will visit Beijing and Shanghai in China from April 6 to 9 at the invitation of Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
In addition to bilateral relations, discussions will cover China's relations with the EU and the United States, as well as Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.
Following a state visit to China last October, Finnish President Alexander Stubb remarked that he told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not be trusted.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Finland and China.
Finland and the People's Republic of China established diplomatic relations in the autumn of 1950 and agreed to open embassies in Beijing and Helsinki.
In November, Finland's resident pandas, Lumi and Pyry, returned to China, eight years ahead of schedule. The giant pandas were leased to Ähtäri Zoo by China in 2017, as a symbol of goodwill and friendship to mark Finland's 100 years of independence. The gesture was noted at the time to be a continuation of Chinese 'panda diplomacy'.
The zoo's financial difficulties contributed to the pandas' early departure.
