🚀 Big news alert! China and Switzerland are about to take their friendship to the next level! 🇨🇳🇨🇭
On Monday, both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to kickstart talks on upgrading their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as soon as possible, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had a chat with Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. They discussed how China's and Switzerland's economies are totally vibing together! 🌐
Minister Wang highlighted how the close economic ties between the two nations have been a win-win over the past decade, thanks to their FTA boosting trade and investment.
He expressed China's eagerness to work with Switzerland to make the important economic and trade goals set by their leaders a reality.
Wang is all about speeding things up! He called for launching negotiations ASAP to upgrade the China-Switzerland FTA, aiming to level up their economic cooperation. 🎯
He also encouraged Switzerland to stick to free trade principles, stand against protectionism, and keep things fair and open for Chinese businesses looking to invest.
Councilor Parmelin acknowledged that China is a super important trading partner for Switzerland. He gave props to the positive role the FTA has played and shared that the Swiss business community is excited about the upgrade!
He emphasized that Switzerland, being an open economy, has always opposed protectionism and trade restrictions. Parmelin expressed Switzerland's willingness to strengthen cooperation with China in areas like regulatory policies and intellectual property protection to ensure a fair and non-discriminatory business environment.
Representatives from major Swiss business groups and companies like the Swiss Business Federation, Swissmem, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Nestlé, Novartis, and Glencore joined the meeting. Talk about a power squad! 💪
Did you know? Switzerland is China's sixth-largest trading partner in Europe, and China is Switzerland's largest trading partner in Asia. In 2023, their trade volume hit a whopping $59.5 billion! 💰
Even cooler, in the first two months of this year, trade between the two countries reached $16.76 billion, jumping 90.3% compared to last year! 📈
Looks like China and Switzerland are set to make even bigger moves together. Stay tuned for more updates on this dynamic duo! 🔥
Reference(s):
China, Switzerland to start talks for FTA upgrade as soon as possible
cgtn.com
