On September 23, 2022, the China-Finland Green Industry Park Forum and the 4th High-Tech Matchmaking Event was successfully held in a hybrid format. Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Zhang Guangjun, Finnish Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment Petri Peltonen, Chinese Ambassador to Finland Wang Tongqing and Finnish Ambassador to China Leena-Kaisa Mikkola delivered opening speeches via video link. Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology Dai Gang presided over the opening ceremony.
In his speech, Vice Minister Zhang Guangjun said that since 2020, President Xi Jinping and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö have spoken twice on the phone, charting the course for strengthening China-Finland cooperation in the fields of research, science, education, and green and low-carbon growth. This matchmaking event is an important initiative taken by both sides to follow up on the consensus of the two heads of state and the outcomes of the China-Finland Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation. Finland is an important science, technology and innovation partner for China, and the science and technology authorities of the two countries have maintained close cooperation over the years, contributing fruitful outcomes to the growth of bilateral relations. Vice Minister Zhang expressed his hope that the participating experts will seize the opportunity of the matchmaking event to fully communicate and deepen cooperation with each other, jointly contribute their wisdom and strength to China-Finland science, technology and innovation cooperation and economic and social development, and support the two countries’ joint efforts in tackling global challenges such as climate change and public health.
Under-Secretary of State Petri Peltonen said that Finland and China have long maintained a sound relationship of science and technology cooperation, and together offered platforms for joint research and innovation projects. The matchmaking event is a concrete follow-up of the Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation in 2021, and aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation in green transition, clean energy, circular economy and other related fields. He encouraged the two sides to explore what to be achieved in greater scale through innovation.
In the matchmaking session, representatives of five green industry parks, as well as some 20 enterprises, universities and research institutions from China and Finland had an in-depth exchange of views and explored cooperation opportunities in four thematic fields, including green energy, intelligent transportation, smart city, and life sciences and health.
Counsellor from the Department of European Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign affairs Wang Jian, Director-General of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology Jia Jingdun, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology Xu Jie, Deputy Director-General of the China Science and Technology Exchange Center Zhuang Jia, Director-General of Business Finland Nina Kopola, Commercial Counsellor of the Finnish Embassy in China and Greater China Country Director of Business Finland Marko Tiesmäki, and Trade and Innovation Consul of the Finnish Consulate in Shanghai and Director of Business Finland Office in Shanghai Mika Klemettinen, among others, attended and addressed the meeting.
This event, co-hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and co-organized by the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, China Science and Technology Exchange Center and Business Finland, is one of the parallel forums of the 2022 Zhongguancun Forum. The Chinese side set up the main venue in Beijing and sub venues in Anhui and Hubei. Nearly 1,000 representatives from Chinese and Finnish industries, universities and research institutes participated in the online matchmaking event via video link and live streaming platforms.
