China and Switzerland on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed to officially start negotiations to upgrade the China-Switzerland free trade agreement (FTA) as soon as possible, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao held talks with Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin, also head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, on Monday, discussing the robust development of China-Switzerland economic and trade relations.

Wang highlighted the close economic ties and strong complementarity between the two countries and the positive impact of the bilateral FTA over the past decade on trade and investment growth.

The Chinese side expressed its willingness to work with Switzerland to implement the important economic and trade consensus reached by the leaders of both countries.

Wang called for the swift initiation of negotiations to upgrade the China-Switzerland FTA, aiming to enhance the quality of bilateral economic cooperation.

He also urged the Swiss side to maintain free trade principles, oppose protectionism and unilateralism, and continue to provide a fair and open investment environment for Chinese enterprises.

Parmelin acknowledged China as one of Switzerland's most important trading partners, praised the positive role of the China-Switzerland FTA and expressed the Swiss business community's anticipation for its upgrade.

He said that as an open economy, Switzerland had consistently opposed protectionism and restrictions on trade cooperation and expressed Switzerland's willingness to strengthen cooperation with China in regulatory policies and intellectual property protection to create a fair and non-discriminatory business environment.

Nearly 30 representatives from Swiss business associations, such as the Swiss Business Federation, Swissmem, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry and companies, including Nestle, Novartis and Glencore, attended the meeting.

Switzerland is China's sixth largest trading partner in Europe, and China is Switzerland's largest trading partner in Asia. In 2023, the trade volume between China and Switzerland was $59.5 billion, of which exports to Switzerland were $5.74 billion, and imports from Switzerland were $53.76 billion.

Trade between the two countries reached $16.76 billion during the first two months of this year, up 90.3 percent year on year, according to official data.