Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who is on a state visit to China, in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 29, 2024. Xi held talks with Stubb in Beijing on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

　　BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes Finland to actively participate in the Chinese modernization process and expand cooperation in emerging industries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.

　　Xi made the remarks as he held talks with visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Beijing.

　　He called on both sides to expand cooperation in green transformation, information technology, digital economy, artificial intelligence and new energy, and build a new pattern of mutually beneficial cooperation in the new era.

　　Xi noted that Finland was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China and the first Western country to sign an intergovernmental trade agreement with China.

　　“As the world is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century and the risks and challenges facing humanity are increasing, the future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership between China and Finland holds exceptional value and should be cherished and advanced,“ Xi said.

　　China-Finland practical cooperation got off to an early start, has yielded fruitful results and demonstrates great potential, he said.

　　China is willing to further expand people-to-people exchanges with Finland, and has decided to apply the unilateral visa-free policy to Finland, he added, noting that China welcomes more Finnish friends to visit for business, tourism and study.