On 11th June, Finland launched SnowPanda Education and Research Consortium (SERC) network in Ähtäri, Southern Ostrobothnia. Mr You Yi, Cultural Counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Finland attended the launching ceremony and gave a speech. Nearly dozens of the representatives from Regional Council of Southern Ostrobothnia, City Council of Ähtäri, University of Tampere, University of Vaasa, Seinäjoki University Consortium, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences Ltd, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences Ltd, School of Education Sedu, and Ähtäri ZOO attended the event.

Counsellor You extended warm congratulations and wished future programme of the consortium to achieve fruitful results. He noted that during President Xi Jinping's successful state visit to Finland in April, 2017, China and Finland agreed to conduct cooperative research on giant pandas. A pair of young pandas arrived in Finland in January, 2018 from Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province of China, and were warmly welcomed by local people. The establishment of SERC will play a positive role to further enhance bilateral cooperation in culture, tourism, education, research, panda protection and construction of national forest parks between our two countries.

In April 2019, the mayors of Ahtari and Dujiangyan signed a sister city agreement on the Sub-National Cooperation Forum of The 2nd "Belt and Road" Summit, under which mechanisms will be implemented by China and Finland.