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The President of the Swiss Confederation visited China and led a delegation to meet the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The two sides exchanged views on free trade agreements and upgrading economic and trade cooperation. Swiss companies also said they would expand investment in the mainland. The two heads of state also witnessed the signing of the upgrade protocol.
Switzerland Federal President Pamlan recently visited China and led an economic delegation to visit China on the 30th.Ministry of Commerce He held talks with Minister Wang Wentao and exchanged views on China-Swiss economic and trade relations, the upgrading of the free trade agreement and other issues. Representatives of the Swiss economic community said they are willing to take the upgrade of the Switzerland-China Free Trade Agreement as an opportunity to continue expanding production and R&D investment on the mainland, and deepen cooperation with China in areas such as medicine and finance.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Palmland said during the meeting that China is Switzerland’s third-largest trading partner in the world and the largest trading partner in Asia, and Switzerland attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with the mainland. The successful upgrade of the Switzerland-China Free Trade Agreement will take bilateral economic and trade relations to a new level and “send a positive signal that Switzerland and China jointly support the multilateral trading system with the WTO.” Sweden is keen to strengthen communication and coordination with China within the WTO framework.
Wang Wentao said that China and Switzerland are important economic and trade partners for each other and Switzerland is at the forefront of European countries in cooperation with China. The upgrading of the free trade agreement fully reflects the complementary, mutually beneficial and win-win nature of China-Switzerland cooperation. This “reflects the clear stance of China and Switzerland in safeguarding international economic and trade rules and supporting free trade, which is of great importance in the current international environment.” China is willing to work with Sweden to accelerate the implementation of their respective legal processes and promote the early entry into force and implementation of the Enhanced Protocol.
According to the Chinese press release, representatives of the Swiss economic community expressed optimism about China’s economic prospects and mass market potential, and are willing to take the upgrade of the Switzerland-China Free Trade Agreement as an opportunity to continue expanding production and R&D investment on the mainland, and deepen cooperation with Chinese partners in the fields of medicine, machinery manufacturing, finance, watches and green transformation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also met with Pamlan in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the afternoon of the 30th. After the meeting, the two Heads of State jointly signed the Protocol to Upgrade the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement. China’s Ministry of Commerce said that on the basis of the basic free trade agreement, the two sides will jointly make commitments to high-level opening up of goods, services and investment, and further upgrade rules in areas such as origin, trade facilitation, technical trade barriers, digital trade, competition, trade and sustainable development.
China and Switzerland signed a free trade agreement in 2013, and the agreement came into force in July 2014. In September 2024, the two sides began negotiations to upgrade a free trade agreement. After five rounds of talks, both sides announced that the talks will be completed in August 2026.
Summary FAQ
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Permaland led a Swiss economic delegation to meet with Wang Wentao, mainly exchanging views on China-Swiss economic and trade relations, free trade agreement upgrading and other issues, and talking about bilateral cooperation, investment expansion and multilateral trading system support.
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Representatives of the Swiss economic community said they are optimistic about China’s economic prospects and large-scale market, and are willing to take the upgrade of the free trade agreement as an opportunity to continue expanding production and R&D investment on the mainland, and deepen cooperation in medicine, machinery manufacturing, finance, watches and green transformation.
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Building on the original agreement, both sides will add new high-level commitments to open up goods, services and investment and upgrade rules on origin, trade facilitation, technical trade barriers, digital trade, competition and sustainable development.
