Premier Wen Jiabao put forward in Helsinki on Tuesday a four-point proposal to boost cooperation with Finland during his meeting with his Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen.

 

"The Chinese side is confident in the prospects of the Sino-Finnish relations," Wen told Vanhanen.

 

The premier's four-point proposal aims to:

 

-- arrange more high-level visits and political dialogues;

 

-- expand trade and increase mutual investment;

 

-- deepen cooperation in science and technology;

 

-- enhance exchanges of experience in improving energy efficiency and environment protection.

 

The Chinese side welcomed more Finnish enterprises to invest in China and encouraged Chinese enterprises to enter Finland, Wen said.

 

In recent years, Sino-Finnish relations had maintained strong momentum, and progress had been made in cooperation in various fields, Wen said.

 

He described Finland as a nation that valued peace.

 

For his part, Vanhanen said the bilateral ties enjoyed a good tradition, and remarkable achievements had been made in cooperation in trade, investment, culture and education.

 

The Finnish government had seriously studied the 11th five-year plan of China, said Vanhanen, adding that both sides could complement each other in trade and economic cooperation.

 

The Finnish prime minister also reiterated the country's one-China policy, for which Wen expressed his appreciation.

 

The two leaders also exchanged views on issues of common concern, with a strong focus on promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries, according to Chinese officials.

 

After the talks, the two leaders attended a ceremony of signing several cooperation documents covering the economy, education and telecommunications.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2006)