Senior CPC Official Meets Finnish DelegationWei Jianxing, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China ( CPC) Central Committee, met Wednsday with a delegation of the Finnish Social Democratic Party (FSDP) headed by its General Secretary Kari Juhani Laitinen.Wei said Finland is one of the first western countries to establish diplomatic relations with China, and through concerted efforts from both sides, bilateral ties have witnessed smooth growth in the past 50 years. Especially during the past decade, senior leaders have frequently exchanged visits, and cooperation in the political, economic, trade, cultural and other fields have also been expanded, he said. This demonstrated that in spite of the differences in political systems, historic and cultural background, economic development, and viewpoints on certain issues, bilateral relations can also continue moving forward so long as both sides respect each other and stick to the principle of equality, mutual benefit, and seeking common ground while preserving differences, Wei said. He said that the FSDP has made important contributions to the protection of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, developing the national economy, and upgrading people's standard of living. The CPC highly appreciates FSDP's pursuit of the One-China Policy and its efforts to push forward bilateral friendship, Wei said. The CPC and the FSDP are both ruling parties shouldering the heavy task of leading their people in developing their countries, and they also face many common challenges, he said. To increase contact between them would help benefit people of both countries, he added. The CPC is willing to further increase communication with the FSDP based on the four principles governing party-to-party relationships, he said. Laitinen said the delegation has learned about China's great changes as well as its big development plans during their several days here. He said that in recent years, the two countries have cooperated successfully in the field of telecommunications technology, and there is also potential in sectors like environment protection and judicial systems. Bilateral relations have reached a high level, and both sides should further strengthen friendly contact, he said, adding the FSDP is willing to work together with the CPC to continue stimulating cooperation in all fields. |
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