FDFA State Secretary Alexandre Fasel visits Beijing for political dialogue between Switzerland and China

The political dialogue on 12 November between the state secretary of the FDFA, Alexandre Fasel, and the Chinese vice foreign minister, Deng Li, was an operational follow-up to the strategic dialogue held in February, also in Beijing, between Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and his counterpart Mr Wang Yi. Since 2017, Switzerland and China have joined together in an 'innovative strategic partnership', which provides for an annual strategic dialogue between the two countries' foreign ministries.

The political dialogue between Mr Fasel and Mr Deng Li was an opportunity to take stock of the main bilateral dialogues between the two countries' ministries of foreign affairs, in particular on human rights, consular relations and various technical cooperation initiatives.

Discussions also focused on economic relations, in particular the potential for optimising and developing the free trade agreement between Switzerland and China, which has been in place since 1 July 2014. Negotiations on this agreement were opened on 23 September 2024 at a virtual meeting of the two countries' ministers of economic affairs.

Mr Fasel and Mr Deng Li also discussed cooperation within the framework of the United Nations and other regional platforms, as well as current international issues, in particular Ukraine and the Middle East. Mr Fasel stressed the importance for Switzerland of taking into consideration all dialogue and mediation initiatives in favour of peace in Ukraine that are based on international law and the United Nations Charter. He also informed his interlocutor of Switzerland's work within the Security Council, where it will retain a seat until the end of 2024.

In 2025, Switzerland and China will celebrate 75 years of bilateral relations. This was an opportunity for Mr Fasel and Mr Deng Li to review the projects planned for these celebrations, which will focus on the themes of culture and tourism. Both countries are looking forward to the coming year's events in this regard.

Further information:

Bilateral relations Switzerland–China

Address for enquiries:

FDFA Communication
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CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
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E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
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Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs