Backgrounder: Major events on Sino-Finnish relations

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying a state visit to Finland from Tuesday to Thursday, which is hailed by Finnish media as the year's most significant visit.

The followings are some major events between China and Finland since the two counties established diplomatic relations on October 28, 1950.

In 1953, an agreement on the governmental trade and payment was signed between the governments of China and Finland, which was the first bilateral trade agreement ever signed between China and a western country.

In 1988, Mauno Koivisto paid a state visit to China, becoming the first Finnish president ever to visit the country.

In 1992, then Chinese Premier Li Peng visited Finland. It was the first visit by a Chinese head of government since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1950.

In 1995, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to Finland, the first by a Chinese head of state to the Nordic country.

During Jiang's visit, the two countries signed an exchange of notes concerning the establishment of consulates in both countries, a memorandum of understanding on environmental protection cooperation as well as six agreements on trade and economic cooperation.

During then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Finland in 2006, China and Finland signed agreements to deepen their cooperation in trade and commerce, education and communication.

In April 2013, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto paid a state visit to China and attended the annual Boao Forum for Asia. President Xi and Niinisto announced the upgrading of the two countries' relations to a future-oriented new-type of cooperative partnership.

In March 2014, Xi met with Niinisto at the third Nuclear Security Summit in Netherlands.

In November 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb at the 10th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in Milan, Italy.