Sanna Lauslahti has fond memories of when her husband lived and worked in Shanghai and she visited him regularly, since she could not leave her job in Finland.

"I have so many beautiful memories from that time," said Lauslahti, who commented ahead of President Xi Jinping's arrival in Finland on Tuesday. She said she loved the atmosphere of Shanghai and almost everything about China.

When Lauslahti moved from business to politics and became a member of the Finnish Parliament in 2007, she was able to turn her passion for China into efforts to "bring China into the Finnish Parliament" by organizing a series of activities.