. In 1954, China opened a Consulate-General in Geneva. Until China established diplomatic relations with France in 1964, Switzerland was the only country in central and southern Europe to have a Chinese Embassy. As a result, the PRC's Embassy in Bern and the Consulate in Geneva were in charge of China's political, cultural and economic relations with France, Italy, West Germany, and many other European countries. China-Swiss economic relations have accelerated since
Deng Xiaoping's
reform and opening up in the late 1970s. Switzerland's trade with China is not in deficit as other industrialized nations trade with China. Two way trade between the two countries is growing at an annual rate of 20–30 percent. In 2007, Swiss exports were valued at 5.4 billion
Swiss francs or 5.36 billion
US dollars. Direct exports from Switzerland to China accounted for 22.8 billion in that deal, which was heralded as a "real milestone" by then
Swiss President Ueli Maurer. Switzerland has a positive trade balance with China, and both countries are expected to profit from export guarantees, protection of intellectual property and financial cooperation between their largest banks. Switzerland thus became the first continental European country and the largest economy to conclude a free trade deal with China. In January 2015, during the
World Economic Forum, the
Swiss National Bank and the
People's Bank of China signed a
memorandum of understanding on the establishment of
renminbi clearing arrangements in Switzerland.
2020 In June 2020, Switzerland openly opposed the
Hong Kong national security law. In September 2020, the
Swiss Federal Intelligence Service wrote that: In October 2020, Switzerland signed a joint statement on the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong, delivered by Germany and denouncing China.
2021 In 2021, the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) ascertained the rapid development of the Chinese economy, and concurrently the number of businesses in Switzerland that maintain contact with China was also rising. Switzerland had advocated "a balanced, coherent and coordinated approach to China", according to the federal department. Switzerland has a long history of close cooperation with the
People's Republic of China (PRC). In 1950, Switzerland was one of the first European states to recognise the PRC. The newly drafted China Strategy 2021–24 was a pragmatic process that involved all departments of the Federal Administration. China and Switzerland had signed a free trade agreement in 2013 to further strengthen bilateral relations, particularly in key sectors, including
green tech.
2022 A 2022 Swiss business in China survey analysed the key challenges for Swiss enterprises there. The survey found that business relations between the two nations were "at their highest ever levels on the back of high profit and re-venue growth expectations for 2022". The broad optimism for economic cooperation was illustrated by the full recovery of the growth lost due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, yet within 6 months, Swiss business confidence went from its highest recorded level to its lowest, similar to the
2015 Chinese stock market crash and the lifting of the Swiss peg to the Euro. In 2022, Switzerland called on China to close the
Xinjiang internment camps where at least one million ethnic minority
Uyghurs were reportedly being held.
2023 Since 2010, China had been Switzerland's largest business partner in Asia, and its third largest globally. According to the
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Swiss business activity in China was expanding with the implementation of the stock connect program. Despite Washington's demands to review audit records, which Beijing resisted on national security grounds, and "the risks of Chinese companies failing to meet the expected corporate governance standards", Swiss economic relations with China were at their highest level, including with
lithium battery producers, electronics and
medical device makers. In June 2023, the demand for Swiss watches in China appeared also in a significant upward trend, contributing to increased export volumes of Swiss watches overall. In the high technology sector, Swiss aerospace companies and academic institutions increased their cooperation with Chinese space exploration in connection with the
International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). In 2023, Swiss authorities raided a Chinese-owned hotel in
Unterbäch suspected of operating a spy ring directed at a nearby airfield hosting
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jets.
2024 In 2024, Chinese Premier
Li Qiang conducted a state visit to Switzerland by in January, where he was greeted by Swiss President
Viola Amherd. In the aftermath of this meeting, Switzerland became one of the few European countries whose citizens are granted visa-free tourist travel to mainland China for up to 15 days. In July 2024, it was announced that China and Switzerland signed a memorandum of understanding to officially start negotiations for upgrading their existing free trade agreement (FTA). This move aims to enhance the quality of bilateral economic cooperation and comes after discussions between high-ranking officials from both countries. As Swiss daily
Tages-Anzeiger reports, the PRC is seeking
easier temporary movement of Chinese
service providers to Switzerland through temporary work permits. However, Swiss negotiators are bound by Switzerland's national laws and quotas on immigration, limiting their flexibility in this area. Additionally, China wants to increase agricultural exports to Switzerland, but the Swiss government places a high value on protecting its domestic agricultural sector. On the other hand, the Chinese side is prepared to make concessions by negotiating clauses on addressing climate change and worker's rights. The latter involves the application of standards from the International Labor Organization (ILO), to which China has committed itself.
2025 with Chinese Vice Premier
He Lifeng at the
56th World Economic Forum in Davos on 20 January 2026 In February 2025, the Swiss government released a report alleging that the government of the People's Republic of China pressures
Uyghurs and
Tibetans in Switzerland to spy on their communities. ==Economic ties==