Driving sustainability: China-Finland partnership fuels green energy and tech innovation

China and Finland have built a strong partnership over more than 75 years of diplomatic relations, with cooperation focused on science, technology and green development. As Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo arrives in Beijing, the visit highlights the continued growth of bilateral ties.

Platforms, such as the China-Finland Joint Committee Meeting on Scientific and Technological Cooperation and the China-Finland High-Tech Matchmaking Event, have played a key role in fostering new quality productive forces and addressing global challenges, including climate change and sustainable development.

Deep-rooted cooperation

Since the signing of the intergovernmental Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation in 1986, China and Finland have built a solid framework for innovation cooperation. Over the decades, this partnership has expanded from traditional scientific research to cutting-edge fields such as climate change, carbon neutrality, and technological innovation.

In 2017, the two countries established the China-Finland Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation, which has since become an important platform for promoting exchanges and collaboration between enterprises in innovation-driven sectors. Preparations are now underway for the committee's sixth meeting, reflecting the continued momentum of bilateral cooperation.

At the institutional level, Finland has set up a series of innovation hubs in China, including the Beijing office of Tekes (now known as Business Finland), the FinChi Innovation Center in Shanghai's Zhangjiang area, and the China-Finland Nano Innovation Center in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Meanwhile, China has deepened its innovation cooperation with Finland through the FinChi Innovation Center in Zhongguancun, extending Beijing's innovation ecosystem into Northern Europe.

A symbol of Finland's vibrant startup ecosystem is the Slush conference, one of the world's leading startup events. Zhongguancun, often described as Beijing's innovation hub, plays a similar role in fostering entrepreneurship and technological breakthroughs. In 2015, with coordination from the FinChi Innovation Center, Slush was introduced to China, holding its first event at Zhongguancun Software Park and promoting exchanges between Chinese and Finnish innovators. Since then, Slush events have been held in Chinese cities including Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu, further strengthening high-tech cooperation.

Advancing clean energy and green development

Addressing climate change has also become a shared priority. China and Finland have worked together on clean energy and sustainable technologies to develop practical solutions. 

A standout example is the "Beautiful Beijing" program, launched in June 2013, which drew on Finnish clean-tech expertise to help explore ways to improve air quality in the Chinese capital. The cooperation covered energy use, construction, transport, industrial production and pollution monitoring. Under this initiative, the Finnish clean-tech company AAVI Technologies began producing air purification equipment tailored to China's conditions, setting a model of mutually beneficial industrial cooperation.

In August 2022, the Guangzhou Nansha "Multiple in One" Micro-Energy Demonstration project became the first energy demonstration project to be implemented under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries. Designed as a smart, low-carbon energy benchmark for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the project integrates advanced technologies such as solar thermal energy, bedrock thermal storage and solid oxide fuel cell. Its 60-Kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell system achieves an electrical efficiency more than 30 percent higher than traditional coal-fired units, while its solar thermal system reaches a heat conversion efficiency of 52 percent, well above domestic averages. The project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 200 tonnes annually, equivalent to planting roughly 10,000 trees.

Sino-Finnish cooperation in clean energy has also extended to Henan Province, where Finnish high-efficiency heat pump technology has been integrated with geothermal energy development to promote low-carbon winter heating.

A shared vision for the future

In October 2024, China and Finland released the Joint Action Plan between China and Finland on Promoting the Future-oriented New-type Cooperative Partnership 2025-2029. The plan prioritizes low-carbon development, with both countries committed to pursuing solutions to combat climate change in line with the objectives, principles and norms set in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, as well as their respective nationally determined contributions.

The plan emphasizes concrete actions for sustainable growth through public-private collaboration, focusing on key areas of energy transition, circular economy, climate, biodiversity and the environment.

The institutional cooperation is also accelerating.

In May 2025, the Beijing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center, affiliated with the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park, signed a memorandum of understanding in Helsinki with the Finnish InnoHub to deepen collaboration in science, entrepreneurship, ecosystems and talent development.

In November 2025, the InnoHub (Beijing) innovation base was launched in an AI-focused cluster in Haidian District, providing a platform for Finnish and European startups to incubate projects and connect with China's industrial resources. Meanwhile, partners from both countries announced a China-Finland joint robotics innovation program, which will organize competitions and workshops in Beijing and Helsinki to promote cross-border collaboration in open-source robotics and smart hardware.