The city of Seinäjoki is located in Etelä-Pohjanmaa of the province of Western Finland and is the fastest-growing urban area in Finland. It is home to 62,000 residents. Seinäjoki was the city that attracted the most immigrants between 2009 and 2013. Residents of Seinäjoki rank second in Finland in terms of well-being (National Institute for Health and Welfare Study 2014).
Seinäjoki is a key region for food production and a center for the development of the agro-industry and bio-economy in Finland, with a general-purpose primary production chain and related industries, including the animal feed, machinery and food industries and commerce. Seinäjoki has an important cluster of food companies and a strong R&D network. The total output value of the agricultural and bioeconomy company in Etelä-Pohjanmaa reached 3.2 billion euros, accounting for 62.7% of the region's GDP.
Seinäjoki has the best entrepreneurial environment in Finland. A 2016 study by the Confederation of Finnish Industries states that Seinäjoki has the best business policy among cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The Finnish Industry Alliance's city rankings for 2015 put Seinäjoki first. Finland's largest food company, Atria Corporation, is headquartered in Seinäjoki.
Seinäjoki is the 6th largest trade center in Finland. Retail sales in Seinäjoki amounted to 670 million euros, equivalent to 12,238 euros per person. The commercial area under construction covers an area of 1,000 hectares. Seinäjoki's business services are very competitive and attractive.
Well-Developed Transportation Seinäjoki is about 360 kilometers away from Helsinki, the capital of Finland; It is the intersection of five railway lines. Based in Seinäjoki, Finnish Commuter Airline is the largest airline in Finland in terms of domestic passenger traffic.
Exchanges between Jiangjin District and Seinäjoki
In November 2015, in order to advance the Belt and Road Initiative, the Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government organized a delegation to Slovenia and Finland, during which a memorandum of friendship and cooperation was signed between Jiangjin District and the Finnish city of Seinäjoki. Since the signing of the memorandum of friendship and cooperation, the two sides have had close exchanges. Jorma Rasinmäki, mayor of Seinäjoki, led a delegation to Jiangjin District twice. In June 2016, he went to Shuangfu International Agricultural Trade City and Selenium Rich Agricultural Products Exhibition Center in Jiangjin District to conduct field visits and cooperation negotiations. Tan Qing, District Mayor of Jiangjin District, met with the delegation. From November 7 to November 11, 2016, Mayor Jorma and his 8-member delegation were invited to attend the 2016 China International Friendship Cities Conference in Chongqing, during which they visited Jiangjin District. They focused on the food companies in Chongqing and the economic and social development of Jiangjin District, and visited Shuangfu International Agricultural Trade City, Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing Commercial Investment Group, Chongqing Heyi Imp& Exp, Chongqing Tianshi Animal By-products Company, and carried out cooperation negotiations. Cheng Zhiyi, Party Secretary of Jiangjin District, met with Mayor Jorma and his delegation and had a friendly exchange on strengthening cooperation between the two sides.
In January 2017, mayor Jorma sent a letter to District Mayor Tan Qing, inviting him to attend the Agricultural Expo in Finland from June 13 to 17, 2017. District Mayor Tan Qing made it clear that he would lead the officials of the Government Office of Jiangjin District, Agricultural Committee of Jiangjin District, and the Investment Bureau of Jiangjin District to attend the expo.
From November 20 to November 21, 2017, Jorma Rasinmäki, mayor of Seinäjoki, Finland, led a delegation to visit Jiangjin District to hold discussions on promoting friendly exchanges and strengthening economic and trade cooperation between the two places.
From October 31 to November 1, 2018, the mayor of Seinäjoki, Finland, Jorma Rasinmäki, led a delegation to visit Jiangjin District. They had in-depth exchanges on continuing to strengthen bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation, promote connectivity, and deepen the sister city relationship.
From November 12 to November 16, 2018, Zhang Guo, member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangjin District Party Committee and Executive Deputy District Mayor of the Jiangjin District, led a team to Seinäjoki to carry out investment promotion activities, which further increased and strengthened the exchanges between sister cities.
From October 28 to 29, 2019, the mayor of Seinäjoki, Finland, Jorma Rasinmäki, led a delegation of 10 people to visit the Jiangjin District.
In January 2020, Jiangjin District received an invitation letter from Seinäjoki, which invited officials of Jiangjin District to Seinäjoki in July 2020 to participate in the 60th anniversary of the city's founding. (Due to COVID-19, the time has not been determined yet).
In April 2020, a letter of condolence was sent from Jiangjin District to Seinäjoki. In it, the officials of Jiangjin District expressed their concerns about the prevention and control of the coronavirus epidemic in Seinäjoki, hoping that it could overcome the coronavirus epidemic soon. Officials of the Seinäjoki government received the letter and expressed their gratitude.