China, Switzerland complete FTA upgrade negotiations

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Switzerland have completed negotiations on upgrading their free trade agreement (FTA), China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Guy Parmelin, president of the Swiss Confederation and head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, jointly announced the completion of the negotiations and signed a memorandum of understanding in Bern on Thursday.

Wang said China and Switzerland launched negotiations on upgrading the FTA in September 2024, and successfully concluded the negotiations after five rounds of consultations through joint efforts.

The two sides have committed to a higher level of two-way opening up in multiple areas, including goods, services, investment and rules, which will create new opportunities for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Wang noted.

Parmelin said the successful upgrade of the agreement marks another important milestone in the development of bilateral relations and will provide a more stable, transparent and predictable institutional framework for the long-term development of businesses in both countries.

It also sends a positive signal for both sides to promote open cooperation and free trade, and uphold a rules-based international economic and trade environment, he said.

The China-Switzerland FTA was signed in July 2013 and took effect in July 2014. It was the first FTA China signed with a country on the European continent.