Finnish president says China’s “Two Sessions” significant to world

HELSINKI, March 9 (Xinhua) — As China’s top legislative and advisory
bodies are holding their annual meetings, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto
said he believes the “Two Sessions” and the decisions to be made are of
global significance.

Among other items on the agenda, the “Two Sessions” are to amend China’s
constitution, pass new laws, deliberate a plan on the reform of state
institutions, and decide a new state leadership. “Those are very important
meetings and very important decisions are being made there,” said Niinisto
in a recent interview with Xinhua, adding that those decisions will be of
great significance for the whole world. He highlighted the China-proposed
Belt and Road Initiative and Beijing’s first white paper on Arctic-related
cooperation. China first proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013,
which advocates better economic connectivity, political coordination and
cultural exchanges among different continents and regions. Beijing further
envisioned a Polar Silk Road in a document released earlier this year.

Finland is the current chair of the Arctic Council. Niinisto noted that
China’s first white paper on Arctic policy is in line with the
international law and the proposal to build a Polar Silk Road will promote
understanding among relevant parties. The Chinese policy document,
released on Jan. 26, “respects international law, especially the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Niinisto said. He said it is
important that Arctic players have something in common so that peace is
maintained in the region. China would like to “jointly understand, protect,
develop and participate in the governance of the Arctic, and advance
Arctic-related cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative,” the white
paper says. It also says the Belt and Road Initiative will create
opportunities for the parties concerned tojointly build a Polar Silk Road,
and facilitate connectivity and sustainable economic and social development
of the Arctic.

The Polar Silk Road is not only a plan for more roads, railways and
shipping routes, but also a vision for promoting understanding among
different peoples, Niinisto said. More discussions are needed to explore
the possibility of combining the Belt and Road Initiative and a European
Union (EU) strategy plan to deepen connection with Asia, he added. The
Finnish president also said he agrees with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s
vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind. “We are
more and more dependent on each other, and a shared future in my eyes means
better connectivity, better mutual understanding, and a peaceful life where
we can learn from each other,” he said. The Finnish leader also praised
China’s achievements in lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty
in the past decades, saying he hopes such efforts will continue. The
president noted that people in the Western world, including Finland, are
“having a very keen eye on the Chinese economy,” as it has a huge impact on
the international economy. “We hope the very positive momentum of the
Chinese economy will continue,” said Niinisto.