As Finland set up its embassy in Beijing in 1952, Finpro, a Finnish trade service organization, also established the Finland Trade Center there, offering business support to Finnish companies since then.

Although there are big multinationals among Finnish enterprises in China, most of the Finnish companies doing business here are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Due to SMEs' sometimes limited resources, Finpro is available here to support them in various issues related to the China market.

The most important lesson that Finpro shares with Finnish companies planning to enter China, according to Ilpo Sarikka, commercial counselor of Finpro Finland Trade Center, is to "come to the country, to see and experience it before making strategic decisions. Do your homework well." China is not only Beijing and Shanghai, but it is a large country with vast opportunities for business.

For instance, Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China shares the similar climate with Finland, and it also has vast resources of forests. Finnish companies with the experience and know-how, for example, in construction, forest industry and energy efficiency sectors, are in a good position to cooperate with Chinese companies in these areas.

The current development of China has provided opportunities for the Finnish enterprises. Finland has experienced, decades ago, a similar stage of development as China now, Sarikka said.

"About 30-40 years ago, the environment in Finland was suffering due to strong development of our forestry industry. The Finnish government, companies, research institutes and universities worked together to develop more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technology and processes, and now our lakes and rivers are very clean again," Sarikka said.

At present, many Finnish companies, with their experiences in technology, are able and willing to come and offer their experiences to Chinese enterprises.

Apart from the clean environment and energy, the Finnish enterprises also have a lot of know-how in many other sectors too, such as healthcare & life sciences, information and communication technology, new materials and processes, and high tech.

Sarikka himself has been living and doing business in China for more than 10 years in the private sector before joining Finpro three years ago.

"The investment environment in China is changing," he said.

The eastern coastal area has been a great place for investment, and now the government is encouraging investment in the central and western parts of China. All these are good news also for Finnish investors, Sarikka said.

Finpro's Finland Trade Center network in China, with its staff of more than 30, is not only providing business advice for enterprises, but is also organizing business trips and matchmaking events for companies to better understand the Chinese market. Finland Trade Center also supports Chinese investors who are willing to invest in Finland.

Finland is now the biggest trading partner of China in North Europe. And China is the biggest trading partner of Finland in Asia. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2006 amounted to $8.08 billion, up 29.2 on a year-on-year basis.