China–Switzerland relations officially began in 1918. Relations between the two nations have been excellent, particularly in economic affairs, although relations were somewhat strained during the ethnic Uyghurs controversy, and the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020.
History
Among the first Swiss visitors to China were Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. Their watches were popular with the Qing court and as a result a few Swiss watchmakers began exporting watches to China. However, it was only with the popularity of chinoiserie in the 18th century that economic interest in China spread in Switzerland. In the 19th century, Swiss merchants and missionaries profited from informal imperialism in Switzerland and enjoyed the consular protection of other powers. Although the Swiss media tended to be critical of Western imperialism in China, even during the Boxer Rebellion and the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, most newspapers ignored Swiss involvement in it. With the establishment of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the Republic of China in 1918, Swiss citizens were officially entitled to extraterritoriality and they formed part of the foreign community in the Chinese treaty ports, enjoying the same privileges as citizens of the imperial powers in China. Swiss exports to China included pocket and wrist watches, indigo, and textiles, while imports from China were dominated by silk and foodstuffs. After the Second World War, Swiss criticism of the Nationalist regime increased. Switzerland relinquished extraterritorial privileges in 1946 but relations between the two nations were distant, and Switzerland was more interested in protecting its economic interests in China than in supporting the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War. As a result, the Swiss government was the fifth Western nation to recognize the PRC on 17 January 1950.
Bilateral relations
Until China established diplomatic relations with France in 1964, Switzerland was the only country in central and southern Europe to have a Chinese Embassy. As a result, the PRC's Embassy in Bern and the Consulate in Geneva were in charge of China's political and economic relations with France, Italy, Germany, and other countries. China-Swiss economic relations have accelerated since Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in the late 1970s. Switzerland's trade with China is not in deficit as other industrialized nations trade with China. Two way trade between the two countries is growing at an annual rate of 20–30 percent. In 2007, Swiss exports were valued at 5.4 billion Swiss francs or 5.36 billion US dollars. The same year, China was already Switzerland's top trading partner in Asia, ahead of Japan.
Swiss firms have been investing in China substantially over the last decade. There are approximately 300 Swiss firms with more than 700 branches operating in China with a total employment of 55,000 people. Chinese firms have a small but growing presence in Switzerland as a base to expand in Europe. Chinese firms are not only entering markets for basic consumer goods such as textiles and shoes but also for chemical intermediates, pharmaceuticals, high technology parts, and telecommunications.
In May 2013, during his official visit to the alpine nation, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed the first free trade agreement between the two countries worth more than 26 billion. Direct exports from Switzerland to China accounted for 22.8 billion in that deal, which was heralded as a "real milestone" by then Swiss President Ueli Maurer. Switzerland has a positive trade balance with China, and both countries are expected to profit from export guarantees, protection of intellectual property and financial cooperation between their largest banks. Switzerland thus became the first continental European country and the largest economy to conclude a free trade deal with China.
In January 2015, during the World Economic Forum, the Swiss National Bank and the People's Bank of China signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of renminbi clearing arrangements in Switzerland.
2020
In June 2020, Switzerland openly opposed the Hong Kong national security law.
In September 2020, the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service wrote that:
In October 2020, Switzerland signed a joint statement on the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong, delivered by Germany and denouncing China.