On November 30, 2021, the China-Finland Sci-Tech Matchmaking Event for Olympic Winter Games was successfully held in a hybrid online and offline form. Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Zhang Guangjun, Finnish Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Employment Petri Peltonen,  Finnish Minister of Science and Culture Antti Kurvinen, Chinese Ambassador to Finland Chen Li, and Finnish Ambassador to China Leena-Kaisa Mikkola attended and addressed the meeting. Representatives from General Administration of Sport of China, Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Finnish Olympic Committee as well as coach and athlete representatives from both countries spoke at the opening ceremony. The meeting was hosted by Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation Dai Gang and President of Beijing Sport University Cao Weidong.

   

 In his opening speech, Vice Minister Zhang Guangjun said that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Xi Jinping has spoken twice with Finnish President Niinistö, and gave clear instructions on China-Finland cooperation on science and technology and winter sports. The matchmaking meeting is a concrete action for implementing the consensus reached between the two presidents and during STI ministerial meeting, and advancing bilateral cooperation on science and technology to support the Winter Olympics and winter sports. Vice Minister Zhang Guangjun pointed out that over the past 35 years since the signing of the China-Finland Intergovernmental Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation, the two sides have achieved satisfactory progress in institutional meetings, practical projects and innovation matchmaking. It is hoped that universities, research institutes and enterprises of both sides will take the opportunity to deepen cooperation and jointly inject new impetus into STI cooperation between the two countries and sci-tech support for the Winter Olympics. Vice Minister Zhang Guangjun wished athletes of both countries every success in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

    

Minister Kurvinen said that the China-Finland Year of Winter Sports in 2019, an initiative of President Xi and President Niinistö, was a resounding success. China and Finland share common Olympic history and the Finnish side is glad to participate in the meeting with the theme of science and technology supporting Winter Olympics on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of China-Finland Olympic cooperation. Finland will send a large delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics and wishes the Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics a great success.

    

Under Secretary of State Peltonen pointed out that over the past 35 years, China and Finland have built an effective cooperation platform and successfully carried out a number of joint research and innovation cooperation projects. The matchmaking event is part of Finnish longstanding and active science and technology collaboration with China. The representatives of Finnish enterprises and universities participating in the matchmaking event have already established a good foundation for cooperation with their Chinese counterparts. It is hoped that the two sides will engage in wider and deeper cooperation through innovation.

 

The matchmaking meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, co-organized by the General Administration of Sport of China and Business Finland, and supported by Beijing Sport University, is the third event in the China-Finland high-tech matchmaking meetings. In the exchange and matching session in priority areas, representatives of 24 universities, research institutions and enterprises from both countries, including, on the Chinese side, the Institute of Sports Science of the General Administration of Sport of China, Tsinghua University, Peking University Third Hospital, and Ice and Snow Industry Alliance of China, and, on the Finnish side, University of Jyväskylä, Suomen Biathlon Oy, and C.E. Lindgren AB, conducted in-depth exchanges and explored cooperation opportunities on science and technology for Winter Olympics, winter sports technology and industrial demonstration and promotion.