Nokia Group will continuously strengthen its fruitful cooperation with relevant departments and partners in China, and expand its businesses in China in years to come, said Nokia President Jorma Ollila in Helsinki on November 24. Nokia will also cement its cooperation with Shanghai, the key industrial and commercial center in China, said Ollila when meeting with visiting deputy mayor of Shanghai Zhou Yupeng.

The president said that he attended the '99 Fortune Forum in Shanghai not long ago, and was deeply impressed by Shanghai's rapid economic progress and the great changes in Pudong Development Zone.

Nokia will seek more cooperative opportunities in Shanghai, said Ollila, adding that Shanghai is a very important city to Nokia.

Nokia's businesses have expanded apace in China, while the country has enjoyed rapid development of its economy and opened wider its door to the outside world in the past years, said Ollila, noting that China is now the second largest market for Nokia in the world.

He is pleased that China and the United States reached a deal on China's entry into WTO, saying that China's accession into WTO will not only promote China's economic development but also benefit various countries in the world.

During the meeting, Zhou briefed the president on economic progress and investment environment in Shanghai, in particular in the New Pudong Development Zone.

Nokia Group, the flagship of Finland, is the largest mobile phone producer in the world. It has seven enterprises and one research center in China. In 1998, the group's sales volume in China hit 2 billion US dollars.