Foreign ministers of China and Switzerland signal their willingness to “move forward pragmatically” with negotiations to update the 2014 free trade agreement

On 10 October 2025, China and Switzerland issued a joint statement following a meeting in Bellinzona between Ignazio Cassis, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, and Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The document states that:
“Both countries have supported the China–Switzerland Free Trade Agreement since it entered into force in 2014, which has played an important role in bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The two sides welcome the progress made in the first rounds of negotiations to optimize the agreement and are ready to move forward pragmatically with the next round, with the aim of reaching a higher-level free trade agreement as soon as possible, promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation, defending the rules and order of free trade, and advancing economic globalization in a more open, inclusive, balanced, and mutually beneficial way.”

Photo credit: Freepik

Source: Abridge