Finnish people eagerly look forward to Chinese president's visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Finland has not only made headlines in the local media, but also drawn attention from ordinary people.

Eagerly looking forward to the event, residents in the capital, Helsinki, have hailed President Xi's visit to their country, hoping the development of China-Finland relations could help boost the Nordic country's economy.

"I think it's really important, like international trade, and also our business relationships and relationship between Finland and China, it is also important for that," said Annina Lindroos, a resident in Helsinki.

"I'm happy that Finland and China are able to establish [a] more fruitful relationship between each other, and these kind of political visits are really important," said Alfred Leppanen, a tennis referee.

Mayor of Helsinki Jussi Pajunen also said the Chinese President's trip is of great significance, especially when it comes to the city's role in linking trade between Europe and other parts of the world.

"The city of Helsinki is one of the most important international passenger ports in Europe. And of course, a lot of the cargo which is shipped from Helsinki and to Helsinki is coming on boats. So the maritime Silk Road, it is a very important potential for the city of Helsinki. One could say that the whole of Helsinki, all the citizens, we are eagerly waiting for the visit," said Pajunen.

A number of civil aviation projects between Helsinki and Chinese cities have been launched.

In 1988, Finnair opened a direct flight between Helsinki and Beijing, the first from Europe to China, which has made many other major European airlines follow suit.

On January, 2017, also started a pilot project installing Alipay, China's biggest 3rd-party digital payment system, on the flight from Shanghai to Helsinki.

Currently, Finnair flies some 30 direct flights to 6 Chinese destinations each week on average.

Risto Penttila, president of Finland's Chamber of Commerce said China's development is having an important and profound impact not only on Finland, but other nations across Northern Europe.

"And it is important to see Finland not only as part of Europe, but part of Nordic region, that is becoming a business and economic unit on its own. And having the president visit brings the story close. So I think it will have a great influence in bringing people's attention closer to China. I think it will have a very very big impact on all of Northern Europe, the Nordic region," said Penttila.

President Xi's 3-day state visit to Finland will start on April 4, which includes meeting with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, as well as other senior leaders.

Both countries will also sign a host of cooperative deals and chart the future direction of bilateral ties.