HELSINKI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has embarked on a state visit to Finland today, and the Finnish people are excited and hopeful about the visit of the top Chinese leader.
The Chinese leader visits Finland in the year that marks the centenary of Finland's independence, showing "respect and appreciation for the long-standing friendship between the two nations," said Paavo Virkkunen, head of Visit Finland, a government-funded organization.
Virkkunen, who works to promote the Nordic nation as a destination for tourism and investment, has been a witness of Finnish-Chinese friendship over the past 30 years.
He led the negotiations on the opening of a non-stop Finnair flight from Helsinki to Beijing back in the 1980s. Now three decades on, there are two Finnair fights linking Helsinki and the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai with Alipay, one of the biggest digital payment systems in the world launched by China's Alibaba Group, installed on board.
Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo told Xinhua recently that the airline is a strong supporter of China's Belt and Road Initiative, and expects more cooperation with China in aviation.
The initiative, which was put forward by President Xi in 2017, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.
But there has not only been a buzz among businesses; the Finnish people have also been avidly discussing the Chinese president's visit. While some expect the arrival of giant pandas and the building of high-speed railways, others are keen on topics like tourism and winter sports.
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