Beyond watches and chocolate: President Xi's visit to boost Swiss-China trade

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Europe

By CGTN's Martina Fuchs

In the cultural melting pot of Beijing, Peter Troesch, general manager of the restaurant “Swiss Taste”, is eager to deliver something he's found lacking in the Chinese capital: an authentic taste of Switzerland.

“We offer cooking classes to tell people about Swiss food, to let them experience how to make the food and eat it… I think through food you can promote the country very well,” he said.

/Martina Fuchs‍

But the relationship between China and Switzerland extends far beyond the taste buds.

Switzerland might be a small, landlocked nation of just 7 million people, but its relations with China have been flourishing, especially since the two signed a Free Trade Agreement that came into force in 2014. It was the first such deal inked between China and a country in Europe.

In the first eleven months of last year, the main imported goods from China to Switzerland were machines and electronics, as well as textiles, garments and shoes. The main exports in the other direction were chemicals and pharmaceutical products, followed by precision instruments, and watches.

/Martina Fuchs

For technology and robotics giant ABB, which is headquartered in Switzerland but counts 40 factories and 18,000 employees in China, hopes are high that with Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Switzerland next week, trade will get an additional boost.

"As a multinational company operating in China, we support any initiative that is promoting trade, and the establishment and operations of businesses, whether it is Swiss businesses in China or Chinese businesses in Switzerland,” Lars Eckerlein, chief financial officer at ABB China, told CGTN.

“We are ideally positioned to support China's growth over the next years, in areas such as energy efficiency, automation and digitization."

/Martina Fuchs

For Nestle, the world's biggest food company, China is the second largest market globally.

"We really cover most aspects of the Chinese consumer with our global Nestle brands like Nescafe or some of our infant nutrition brands, but also a lot of local Chinese brands, where we have partnered with Chinese companies,” said Bernie Stefan, greater China region vice-president for Nestle.

“I think this is very important for the future, that you are able to cover the entire spectrum, from the products that are more premium for the more affluent consumer but also mainstream products for the broader community."

/Martina Fuchs

Switzerland is a champion of science and technology, and has topped the World Intellectual Property Organization’s global innovation index for six consecutive years.

At the same time, China has set innovation as a national strategy. The two countries signed a joint statement to establish a strategic innovation partnership last year.

Forget watches and chocolates, small alpine Switzerland definitely has more to offer.