At a time when Denmark is almost at its wit's end over the issue of Greenland, another Nordic country, Finland, has stepped forward with hope and arrived in China.

On January 25, Finnish Prime Minister Orpo arrived in Beijing to begin an official four-day visit to China. This visit marks the first time in nine years that a Finnish prime minister has visited China, and it is the third visit by an EU leader to China within a short period, following French President Macron in late 2025 and Irish Prime Minister Martin at the beginning of this year.

(Prime Minister Orpo of Finland arrives in Beijing)

According to the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, during his visit, Orpo will have in-depth exchanges on bilateral relations and issues of common concern. According to the Ministry of Commerce, China will also sign multiple commercial cooperation agreements with Finland.

Finland and China have a long history of trade, and China is one of Finland's major trading partners. According to a research report by BPFIT, the macroeconomic research institute under the Bank of Finland, China is Finland's third largest source of goods imports, after Germany and Sweden, and also the fifth largest export market for Finnish goods. Moreover, the Bank of Finland stated that the importance of China to Finland is continuously increasing.

Finland has placed great importance on this visit, with Orpo bringing more than 20 business executives from various sectors, including machinery, food, and the new energy sector, which has been particularly important in Europe recently. After arriving in Beijing, Orpo posted on social media: "Greetings from Beijing, China. I am leading a delegation of Finnish companies on this official visit to open up opportunities for Finnish businesses and further promote exports from Finland to the Asian market. This journey is meaningful!"

This statement and the publicly available information indicate that Finland's visit to China is mainly focused on building more cooperation models based on bilateral relations between Finland and China. As Finland is not among the core countries in the EU, its cooperation with China has often relied on the EU framework. However, this statement shows that Finland is bypassing the EU framework to seek stronger autonomous diplomacy and economic cooperation.

This approach aligns closely with the current strategy in Europe. After the division in Sino-European relations, seeking multilateral cooperation has become the main new direction for Europe. In this process, Europe has first turned its attention to us, China.

(The Finnish Mining Group is one of the companies accompanying the delegation on this visit)

Since the end of last year, European leaders wanting to visit China have been "queueing up." First came French President Macron, then Irish Prime Minister Martin, now it's Finnish Prime Minister Orpo. British Prime Minister Starmer is said to be coming soon, and German Chancellor Merkel has confirmed she will visit during the Chinese Spring Festival.

Besides Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau also visited China recently, causing shock in the United States. The US seems unable to accept its neighboring country choosing to side with China in international affairs, thus frequently making unfriendly remarks to criticize Trudeau.

However, it is worth noting that Trump himself is planning to visit China in April and has expressed a desire to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Shenzhen in November, aiming to achieve the feat of visiting China twice within a year.

China seems to have become a country that many parties, including the US, want to visit, but these guests are showing a strong contradiction among themselves. Apart from the mentioned tensions between the US and Canada, there is a larger crisis looming over the US and Europe—the recent claim by Trump to gain control of Greenland, which has forced Denmark and the entire EU to face the most serious threat since World War II: territorial cession.

Denmark's current situation can truly be described as being at its wit's end. Due to Trump's previous statements about considering military options, if it comes down to a direct confrontation, Denmark and the entire Europe are not the match of the US. Although Trump stated at the Davos Forum that he does not consider using force, due to his loss of credibility, no one believes any of his promises. Strengthening defense in all aspects—military, economic, and diplomatic—is the only way. This process requires external assistance for Denmark.

In front of the US, the international order has become a paper promise. At this special moment, Finland's visit to China may have purposes beyond economics—that is, to step forward for Denmark and ask China what should be done.

(A cartoon of Trump on social media about "occupying Greenland")

According to news from Finland on the 22nd, Orpo stated that it is very important to dialogue with China on bilateral cooperation and current international issues, including challenges faced in the rule-based international system and trade.

The international system and trade challenges emphasized by Orpo likely refer to the Greenland crisis and the loss of trade credibility caused by Trump's tariff policies. As one of the five Nordic countries, Finland has had close relations with Denmark for a long time. If America's plot succeeds, it would not just be a problem for Denmark alone.

Based on current information, our foreign ministry emphasized having in-depth exchanges on "issues of common concern," although it was not clearly stated, it did reveal that the scope of this dialogue goes beyond economic cooperation.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7599564653445792291/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.