According to Basel University, Ralph Weber’s studyExternal link is the “first work to explore tactics of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence and United Front activitiesExternal link in Switzerland”. It focuses on personal and institutional networks, and lists efforts to exert influence on “issues Beijing regards as sensitive, including questions concerning Tibet, Taiwan, or Xinjiang”.
Based on the study, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper highlights a “spin doctor” living in western Switzerland: Yuming Yang, who is currently on the board of the Bern-based Swiss China Investment Platform Association – along with Hans-Ulrich Bigler, the director of the Swiss Trade Association (SGV).
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Rights activists want Swiss-Chinese trade deal to be overhauled
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Campaigners are urging the Swiss government to renegotiate a six-year-old free trade agreement with China over human rights concerns.
When contacted by the Sunday newspaper for a comment, Henrique Schneider, SGV’s vice director, replied, “It is not up to us to judge how China or Chinese groups assess cooperation or use it in their communication, just as it is not up to our partners to assess our communication. As long as Switzerland treats the second-largest trading partner as a strategic partner, China is also a partner for the largest umbrella group of the Swiss economy”.
In his 70-page Sinopsis studyExternal link, Weber writes that several Swiss-based actors, including SGV, “operate under the assumption of a false equivalence, mistaking CCP-controlled bodies for civil-society associations and for their ‘counterpart’. This finding points to the need for increased awareness building at all levels of Swiss society, economy and politics, and establishing a more solid knowledge base on the structure and functioning of the Chinese party-state”.
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Why a controversial Chinese-Swiss agreement has been left to expire
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The Swiss have put on hold a deal to identify Chinese nationals but questions about the nature of the arrangement continue to dog authorities.
Human rights and trade dominate Swiss-Chinese talk
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Switzerland is worried about human rights violations in China, a topic broached during a remote political dialogue between the nations on Monday.
Black Friday gets off to a slow start in Swiss shops
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Black Friday has established itself as one of the biggest shopping events in Switzerland in recent years. On Friday, however, business was rather slow, especially in the stores.
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The invasive Japanese beetle has been discovered in Valais, southwestern Switzerland. The canton now wants to stop the spread of the voracious plant pest.
Court overturns minimum wages in Zurich and Winterthur
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The administrative court of canton Zurich has annulled the ordinance on the introduction of a municipal minimum wage in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Winterthur. It said the ordinances violated cantonal law.
Nominal Swiss wages up 1.5% in 2024, says latest estimate
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Wages in Switzerland are likely to have risen slightly more in 2024 than previously assumed. However, some of this is likely to be eaten up by inflation.
CERN ends cooperation with institutes from Russia and Belarus
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The cooperation agreement between CERN and Russia and Belarus will be terminated on Saturday, as previously announced. The move is a reaction to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Swiss private bank Lombard Odier charged with serious money laundering
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The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has charged the private bank Lombard Odier and a former employee with serious money laundering.
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The Swiss Air Force wants to halve the number of its demonstrations and exhibitions to save money. Participation abroad is planned only in exceptional cases from the beginning of 2025.
Updated free trade deal between Switzerland and China set for 2025
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The enhanced free trade agreement between Switzerland and China is set to enter into force in 2025. This is the assumption of parliamentarian Thomas Aeschi, president of the EU-EFTA delegation.
Swiss government sees no need for special law on Sarco suicide capsule
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Following the first use of the Sarco assisted suicide capsule in Switzerland in September, the government sees no need for legislative action for the time being.
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The top three places of Switzerland's biggest fortunes remain unchanged in 2024, dominated by the co-owner of the Parisian label Chanel.
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