Finnish President Sauli Niinisto (R) shakes hands with Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of China, during their meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on June 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Matti Matikainen)

HELSINKI, June 16 -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto met with Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of China on Friday, and they expressed interest in further strengthening bilateral military cooperation.

Finland and China has established a future-oriented new-type cooperative partnership in recent years, said the Finnish president, stressing that the two countries share similar positions on global issues like free trade and climate change.

Niinisto said Finland highly values the collaboration with China in various areas including national defense and military, and is willing to work with Chinese partners to further develop the relations between the armies of the two sides.

On his part, Fan noted that China appreciates Finland's support for and participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

He vowed to promote bilateral military cooperation based on a better synergy of the development strategies of the two countries.

Fan also held talks with Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto on Thursday, focusing on improving the military cooperation. They agreed to facilitate high level exchanges, expertise communication and pragmatic cooperation.