Exclusive‘Not a positive thing’: Finland wary of China’s growing Russia trade ties amid Ukraine war, EU de-risking

Finland’s trade chief respects China’s choice to further engage with Russia but cautions about investment risks

Ville Tavio says Beijing should urge Moscow to stop aggression, but predicts EU-China relations will ‘only get better’

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As China and Russia strengthen trade relations, the Finnish trade minister has cautioned Beijing on Russian investment risks. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:00am, 18 May 2024Updated: 5:12pm, 18 May 2024

Finland respects China’s choice to further engage with Russia, but the close business ties between the two countries are not regarded as a “positive thing”, a Finnish minister has told the Post.

In an exclusive interview in Doha on Thursday, Finnish Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Minister Ville Tavio said that relations between the European Union and China “will get only better” despite Brussels’ move to de-risk from Beijing, but China’s leaders will need to build trust with the bloc’s business entities.

“We wish China to use its influence to Russia, to [ask] Russia to stop their aggression. So naturally, I would like to see China having a constructive dialogue with Russia about this illegal war,” Tavio said.

“I have no objection if China can play the mediator role, but of course, negotiations are difficult … and the negotiations would be conducted between two parties anyhow, Russia and Ukraine,” he added.

Ville Tavio, the Finnish minister for development cooperation and foreign trade, is pictured prior to an EU trade ministers meeting in Brussels in November. Photo: Getty Images

The interview came as Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing on his first trip abroad since being re-elected as Russia’s president.