Finnish President Alexander Stubb arrived in Beijing on Monday for a four-day state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
Monday marks the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Finland.
During Stubb's current China visit, Xi will hold talks with him, and Premier Li Qiang and National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji will meet with him respectively to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common interest, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday last week.
Finland was among the first Western countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, Lin said, adding that China-Finland relations are seeing sound development.
China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with Finland, continue the traditional friendship, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, investment, green transformation and other fields, jointly meet global challenges, and promote the further development of bilateral relations, Lin said.
Finnish president arrives in Beijing for state visit
Finnish president arrives in Beijing for state visit
Finnish president arrives in Beijing for state visit
Finnish president arrives in Beijing for state visit
The Silk Road Carnival, an important part of the ongoing 10th Silk Road International Arts Festival, concluded on Friday in Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi in northwest China, and a starting point of the ancient trade route.
The five-day carnival that started on October 21 gathered artists from different countries and offered a visual feast with the charm of art and diverse cultures of the countries along the Silk Road. The performances of traditional dances and modern music, folk music instruments and symphonies highlighted the carnival's closing ceremony on Friday, displaying the diversity and inclusiveness of the Silk Road culture.
"It's an important event, as it promotes artistic and cultural exchanges between different countries," said Valle, a Spanish dancer.
For Zhang Zhaoyu, a Qinqiang Opera performer, the art event also provided opportunities for overseas artists and audience to understand more about the local Chinese opera.
"This is an encounter between Chinese and Western culture. Westerners are passionate and hot on stage, while our Oriental culture is characterized with subdued elegance, like what our Chinese traditional operas display. Our traditional operas demonstrate a kind of Oriental beauty. We just took advantage of such a platform [of the festival] to present the culture of Qinqiang Opera of Shaanxi to Western guests and artists, so that they could see how extensive and profound our Chinese art is," said Zhang.
First held back in 2014, this year's Silk Road International Arts Festival, sponsored by the provincial government of Shaanxi, will run until November 10.
The event has attracted artists from 15 countries and regions, while a total of 63 performances are scheduled alongside a series of activities including multiple shows and exhibitions, according to organizers.
Silk Road Carnival concludes in Xi'an
