Finnish FM tours China to seek more common grounds
Finnish FM tours China to seek more common grounds
08:33, November 03, 2009 
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Visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said in Beijing on Monday that the main purpose of his Asia visit was to get in touch with the world's most dynamic area.
Stubb is in Beijing for a two-day visit as guest of his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. It was his first China visit since taking office as Finnish Foreign Minister.
"I think the world today is very small...we share the problems like climate change, energy and financial crisis, and it is good to hear messages from the other sides of the world," Stubb told a news briefing in Beijing.
East Asia is now the most dynamic area of the world, both economically and politically, so it is very important to see how the area develops, he said.
Among the Asian countries, China especially is emerging as one of the powers of the world with an 8 percent economic growth this year, he said.
Although there are substantial differences between Finland and China, the two nations hold many common grounds, Stubb said, citing they are both supporters of free trade and trying to fight against the protectionism.
When asked about his expectation on the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, Stubb said there would probably not be a legally binding document, but a political declaration with commitments.
"If we achieve that, it would be good news," he said. He also warned that the failure to deal with the climate change would have serious political implications.
In response to a question on his opinion on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's vision of an East Asian community, Stubb said he was a firm believer of regional integration.
"I believe that European Union will prosper because of its concept of regional integration, but we must understand that regional integration also means pulling off sovereignty," he said.
"We start to see increasing regional cooperation in the world, but to reach the level of integration, Europe has taken a long time and it is a very incremental process," he added.
Source:Xinhua
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2009-11/03/content_374464.htm
Stubb is in Beijing for a two-day visit as guest of his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. It was his first China visit since taking office as Finnish Foreign Minister.
"I think the world today is very small...we share the problems like climate change, energy and financial crisis, and it is good to hear messages from the other sides of the world," Stubb told a news briefing in Beijing.
East Asia is now the most dynamic area of the world, both economically and politically, so it is very important to see how the area develops, he said.
Among the Asian countries, China especially is emerging as one of the powers of the world with an 8 percent economic growth this year, he said.
Although there are substantial differences between Finland and China, the two nations hold many common grounds, Stubb said, citing they are both supporters of free trade and trying to fight against the protectionism.
When asked about his expectation on the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, Stubb said there would probably not be a legally binding document, but a political declaration with commitments.
"If we achieve that, it would be good news," he said. He also warned that the failure to deal with the climate change would have serious political implications.
In response to a question on his opinion on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's vision of an East Asian community, Stubb said he was a firm believer of regional integration.
"I believe that European Union will prosper because of its concept of regional integration, but we must understand that regional integration also means pulling off sovereignty," he said.
"We start to see increasing regional cooperation in the world, but to reach the level of integration, Europe has taken a long time and it is a very incremental process," he added.
Source:Xinhua
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2009-11/03/content_374464.htm
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