‘Glass half full’ rating for Swiss-Chinese trade deal
Chinese President Jiang Zemin used his freedom of speech to criticise the Swiss government for allowing freedom of speech for pro-Tibetan protestors
Keystone
Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently in Europe promoting his signature Belt and Road trade project. There are no plans to stop off in Switzerland. There’s no point, since the two countries have had close economic ties for a while. Exactly 20 years ago, however, the friendship turned sour.
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When not covering fintech, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, banks and trade, swissinfo.ch's business correspondent can be found playing cricket on various grounds in Switzerland - including the frozen lake of St Moritz.
Switzerland was one of the first Western countries to recognise officially the People’s Republic of China not long after its establishment in 1949.
But on March 25, 1999, this special relationship took a distinct turn for the worse. Arriving at parliament in Bern during an official visit to Switzerland, then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin struggled to contain his anger at the sight and sound of pro-Tibetan protestors. “Switzerland has lost a friend,” he declared.
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Since that memorable diplomatic hiccup, things have returned to normal between the two countries – to the point that Switzerland has been calledExternal link a sort of “bridgehead” in China’s search for influence in Europe.
In April 2016, Johann Schneider-Ammann, who held the rotating Swiss presidency that year, travelled to Beijing. Less than a year later, President Xi visited Switzerland to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Switzerland has also strengthened financial ties with China over the years. In December 2018, UBS became the first foreign bank to gain majority control of a financial institution on mainland China by increasing its stake in the UBS Securities joint venture to 51%.
China has invested massively in the West, and Switzerland is no exception. More than 80 Swiss companies are now in Chinese hands, with a total value of CHF46 billion. The $43.3- billion takeover of agrochemical giant Syngenta by the China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) in 2016 is the biggest acquisition ever by a Chinese company.
However, China’s economic influence has also provoked criticism and resistance, notably from some members of Swiss parliament who recently asked the government to look into introducing investment controls on Chinese companies.
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In a statement the government said the deal would “improve access to each country’s markets for goods and services and legal certainty with regard to protecting intellectual property and bilateral economic exchanges in general”. It will also remove customs duties in most areas of bilateral trade. The bilateral free trade agreement was signed by Economics…
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A feasibility study suggests that Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) could be boosted by 0.23 per cent and industry could make annual savings of around SFr290 million ($297 million) as trade barriers are lifted. Encouraged by the positive findings of the study, which suggested mutual benefits for both partners, the Swiss cabinet on Friday officially…
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