China’s Xi Jinping says major powers must set example as world faces ‘risks, challenges’

Major powers must set an example as the world faces “multiple risks and challenges”, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Beijing on Tuesday.

“Major powers in particular must take the lead in promoting equality, the rule of law, cooperation and integrity,” Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster CCTV.

Orpo’s four-day trip to China is aimed at forging closer ties amid pressure from US policies. It comes days after a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who sealed a wide-ranging agreement with Beijing to reduce tariffs and mend relations after years of strain.

Orpo is also the second European Union leader to visit in three weeks, after Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in early January, and his arrival comes about a month before a planned visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The flurry of visits comes amid mounting tensions within Nato, as US President Donald Trump’s criticism of long-standing partners in the transatlantic alliance and push to acquire Greenland deepens rifts between Washington and its European allies, many of which are also members of the EU.