The upgraded free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Switzerland will deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields, said spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce Huang Ling at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
China and Switzerland signed a protocol to upgrade their FTA on Oct. 30.
Both sides will complete their respective ratification procedures and work to bring the upgraded agreement into force at an early date, said Huang.
"After the protocol takes effect, the two sides will reach a higher level of market access in specific fields of goods, services and investment, and products ultimately enjoying zero tariff will cover more than 99 percent of bilateral trade volume. Switzerland's coffee, machine tools, watches, medical products and other goods will have broader market prospects in China, while China's sunflower seeds and other oil-bearing seeds, vegetable oil, pet food and other products will enter the Swiss market with more preferential tariff treatment," said Huang.
"Switzerland has made multiple new commitments regarding mobility of natural persons, traditional Chinese medicine, and equipment repair and maintenance, while China will open manufacturing-related service, professional design and other sectors to Switzerland, and made high-standard commitments in areas of finance, maritime transport and air transport. The protocol also further optimizes relevant rules, and the two sides will actively deepen cooperation in emerging fields of digital trade, competition, trade and sustainable development," she said.
Switzerland is China's seventh-largest trading partner in Europe, while China is Switzerland's largest trading partner in Asia, according to the Commerce Ministry. Bilateral trade reached 49.04 billion U.S. dollars in 2025.
China and Switzerland signed their original FTA in 2013, and the agreement entered into force in July 2014. The two countries launched negotiations to upgrade the agreement in September 2024 and announced their completion in August 2026, after five rounds of talks.
Upgraded FTA to deepen China-Switzerland cooperation: spokeswoman
The 9th Hongqiao International Economic Forum opened in Shanghai on Thursday, convening business leaders and representatives from around the world to explore paths to a more open global economy together.
The two-day event is being held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center under the theme "Stability and Cooperation: Building an Open World Economy Together," bringing a series of parallel sessions and report releases alongside the main discussions.
Now in its ninth edition, the forum has grown into a premier platform for dialogue on global economic cooperation, with a series of parallel sessions and report launches running alongside the main discussions.
A major highlight was the unveiling of the World Openness Report 2026, which showed that global openness tightened significantly in 2025, even as emerging and developing economies moved in the opposite direction, with China continuing to rank at the forefront among them.
Chinese and international experts at the gathering urged countries worldwide to join hands in fostering global openness and cooperation based on mutual trust, inclusiveness and accessibility.
Also making its debut was the Export-to-China Capacity Development Report, which analyzes China's market demand and import policies from multiple perspectives and aims to help other countries, particularly those in the Global South, enhance their capacity to export to the Chinese market.
The parallel sessions covered a broad agenda, from China's development achievements in the 25 years since its accession to the World Trade Organization to free and fair trade, cooperation on industrial competitiveness, and Hong Kong's new opportunities as its development strategies align with the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Discussions also turned to global economic rebalancing and innovation in the humanoid robot and embodied AI industries, with several research reports released during the sessions.
The forum is running alongside the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which opened in Shanghai the same day, drawing more than 4,100 overseas exhibitors from 148 countries and regions.
First held in 2018 as the world's first national-level expo dedicated to imports, the CIIE has since evolved into a vital gateway for foreign businesses seeking access to China's vast consumer and industrial markets.
9th Hongqiao Forum opens in Shanghai, exploring paths to a more open global economy
