Switzerland and China enjoy a close and mutually beneficial relationship with practical cooperation in many sectors yielding fruitful results as they are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations.
The journey of diplomatic ties between China and Switzerland began on Jan 17, 1950, when then-President of the Swiss Confederation Max Petitpierre sent a telegram to Chinese leader Mao Zedong, expressing Switzerland's willingness to establish diplomatic relations. It paved the way for the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on Sept 14 of the same year.
The Chinese Embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern, has been a symbol of friendship between China and Switzerland for three quarters of a century.
Mao Jun, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Switzerland, said the two countries have made remarkable achievements in relations and cooperation over the years.
"Together, the two sides have cultivated a spirit of equality, innovation and win-win cooperation. It's a model for developing friendly relations between countries with different social systems, at different stages of development and of different sizes. Second, practical cooperation between the two sides is getting closer. A mutually beneficial relationship between China and Switzerland shows a pioneering spirit and there have been many firsts. Switzerland was the first mainland European country to recognize China's full market economy status and the first to sign a free trade agreement with China," he said.
Jean-Jacques Dardel served as Swiss ambassador to China from 2014 until 2019. He said those were the golden days in relations between the two countries.
"In my time, what was remarkable was the intensity of those official visits. I mean, almost every week we had an important delegation from Switzerland coming to China, and we were asked to also lend a hand to organize visits from the Chinese side to Switzerland. We sensed that innovation, development, economic advancement was the order of the day for all," said Dardel.
China and Switzerland have been historically connected through trade in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, the machine industry as well as watches and precision equipment.
In July 2013, China and Switzerland signed a comprehensive free trade agreement, which waived most tariffs on goods and took effect in July 2014, making Switzerland the first continental European country to conclude and implement a free trade agreement with China.
Since then, China became Switzerland's third largest trade partner globally. In turn, Switzerland is China's 6th largest trade partner and the 5th largest source of investment in Europe.
The two sides are currently negotiating an upgrade to their free trade agreement, which signals further cooperation and strong relations between the two nations. Market access is one area both China and Switzerland will be hoping to enhance, while also covering new fields like e-commerce.
China, Switzerland make remarkable achievements in bilateral relations, cooperation
