Defense Minister and State Councilor Chang Wanquan said on July 3 that the military relationship between China and Finland has gained good momentum and achieved fruitful results, and called for efforts to elevate this relationship to a higher level.

He made the comments during a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Naantali, Finland.

Chang’s visit to Finland came upon the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Finland diplomatic ties and aimed to put the significant agreements reached by President Xi Jinping and Niinisto into practice.

He hoped to deepen bilateral pragmatic cooperation in the defense and security areas, thus enriching the bilateral relationship, Chang said, noting that high-level visits between the two countries’ militaries are frequent and that mutual communication mechanisms are running smoothly.

China is willing to work with Finland to consolidate existing achievements and explore more cooperation, thus elevating the military relationship to a higher level, he said.

Niinisto asked Chang to deliver his greetings and good wishes to Xi. The leaders of the two countries had agreed to develop a new type of cooperative partnership between China and Finland.

The Finnish president said the two countries are engaging in increasingly close cooperation in the fields of politics, diplomacy, culture and defense.

Finland is willing to strengthen coordination and exchanges with China in addressing climate change and fighting terrorism, jointly contributing to world peace and prosperity, he said.

The Chinese defense minister also met with his Finnish counterpart, Jussi Niinisto, on July 2. The two sides exchanged views over issues that included the bilateral military relationship and regional security situation.