Chinese President Xi Jinping is holding a state visit to Finland today. Discussions with President Sauli Niinistö will likely to include trade issues, based on an open letter from President Xi in the local press. While the meeting is characterized as a ‘stop-over’ as Xi heads to the U.S. it contrasts with the more aggressive tone being taken by China with the EU on trade measures, as outlined in Panjiva research of April 4. Panjiva data shows that China’s exports to Finland have stagnated, dropping on a quarterly basis every month since October 2012. That resulted in a trade deficit of $699 million in the 12 months to February 2017 vs. a post-crisis peak of a $3.84 billion surplus.

Left hand axis shows change in Chinese exports and imports to Finland on a three month rolling average basis vs. a year earlier. Right axis shows surplus or deficit on a 12 month total basis. Source: Panjiva

China’s imports from Finland are led by wood products, but include a significant proportion of higher technology goods include pharmaceuticals and electronics. Analysis of the top 500 Chinese export lines globally shows there are 327 where shipments to Finland are under-represented. These could add 34.2% to Chinese exports, though some of the most significant including mobile phones are areas where the two countries compete.

Chart compares proportion of China’s global exports (horizontal axis) to its shipments to Finland (vertical axis) segmented by HS6 classification Source: Panjiva