Chinese President Xi Jinping in cartoons published by Finnish media

A series of cartoons depicting the stories of Chinese President Xi Jinping were published on Helsinki Times, the largest English newspaper in Finland before he arrived in the capital city of the European country for a state visit.

The seven cartoons were themed with “He worked as a farmer for seven years when he was young”, “He likes to read”, “He likes sports”, “Keen on environmental issues”, “Promoted winter sports to China”, “Presented a birthday cake to Finnish President Sauli Niinisto's wife” and “Fights against corruption” respectively.

The cartoons, liked by netizens, vividly exhibit the charm of President Xi. Those images, launched by both the Finnish paper and People’s Daily Online, aim to make local readers have better acquaintance with the Chinese President.

Praising it as a good idea, Alexis Kouros, editor-in-chief of Helsinki Times, said that local residents can know about Xi better, thanks to the vivid images.

Published on the front page of the paper’s website on Tuesday, the cartoons were also interpreted in words, with the one showing President Xi presented a birthday cake to Niinisto's spouse on the top.

Antti, a Finnish resident, called the People’s Daily less than half an hour after the cartoons were released, saying that they like Xi more because of the lively images.