Forum to deepen Sino-Swiss relations

Switzerland expected to play a key role and delineate the country's stance on the initiative at the event, Fu Jing reports

Editor's note: These are the last in a series of reports focusing on the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, the proposed trade route linking China with the rest of the world.

Switzerland is slated to play a key role in the Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation on Sunday and Monday.

It was in Switzerland's Davos that Chinese President Xi Jinping first announced that China will host the crucial gathering.

Xi had made the announcement in his keynote address to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which was part of his state visit in January.

Doris Leuthard, Xi's Swiss counterpart, swiftly confirmed her attendance during Xi's visit. Four months on, Switzerland will unveil its stance on the Belt and Road Initiative at the forum in Beijing.

Switzerland has had a decade-long pioneering role among Western countries in deepening relations with China.

In the run-up to the forum, Johann Schneider-Ammann, head of Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, said Switzerland will follow "with great interest" the Belt and Road Initiative.

Since Switzerland is an export-led open economy, closer connectivity among different countries is in its interests, he said.

He also recalled his state visit to China in 2016 when he was the federal president as per the rotation system. Schneider-Ammann said he has learned a lot about this initiative during a meeting with President Xi.

"One year on, we have a new president in (Doris) Leuthard and she will present our Swiss stance soon in Beijing," he said during an interview.

Although the general public in Switzerland are not well aware about the bilateral discussions on the initiative, he said politicians, the government and the parliament are fully informed.

The new president has instructed her team, China experts and other contacts to explore the scope of the initiative.

Switzerland was among the first Western countries to recognize the potential of the post-reforms China to export advanced technologies, he said.

China's market economy status, its free trade agreements with various countries and blocs, and its status as a founding-member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are important developments, he said.

For its part, Switzerland has become an observer country of the cooperation framework between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries.

"Our frequent political exchanges have demonstrated how we are steadily pushing our partnership forward," said Schneider-Ammann.

He said both China and Switzerland have regular exchanges on partnership for innovation. "We spent a lot of time on this topic and President Xi has been keen on knowing in detail policies and practices of my country," said Schneider-Ammann.

Both sides are keen to advance their bilateral free trade agreement, which will be reviewed every two years. Opportunities for cooperation in education, tourism and sports will be explored, he said.

Schneider-Ammann said Xi had shown great interest in the vocational education system of Switzerland.

Yves Fluckiger, rector of the University of Geneva, said the institution and Tsinghua University have launched the Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative, which has developed into an ambitious joint education program about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, supported by a local foundation in Geneva.

He said Tsinghua University and the University of Geneva will announce the inauguration of two activities which will be linked through the Geneva-Tsinghua Initiative and lead to research and development relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The huge ambition and scale of the Belt and Road Initiative will surely lead to many fascinating research projects and education opportunities, in everything from advanced engineering to issues of international law and intercultural communication," said Fluckiger.

Zheng Jinqiang, Wang Keju and Zhang Zhaoqing contributed to this story

Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn