The biggest achievement Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will bring home from his trip to Switzerland will undoubtedly be the wrapping up of negotiations of the Sino-Swiss free trade agreement.

Switzerland is the third stop in his current trip abroad, and the first European nation that Li has visited since he took office.

Three years ago, Li had officially visited Switzerland for the first time, during which he witnessed the start of the FTA talks. This is his second visit, and he is back on the same mission.

On Friday, Li and Ulrich Ueli Maurer, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, witnessed the signing of a memorandum upon the conclusion of the bilateral talks.

This agreement between China and Switzerland is not quite the same as the 11 other FTAs that China had already signed worldwide.

This is the first FTA that China has inked with a nation on Continental Europe, and the first the nation has signed with a country that ranks among the top 20 economies of the world.

Through the FTA, Li expects to send a strong message that China is committed to deepening its economic opening-up policy and firmly supports the liberalization of global trade and investment, a very important part of China's strategy in sustaining its economic growth.

The Sino-Swiss agreement is just a starting point.

During his speech to representatives from the economic and financial community in Switzerland on Friday, Li said China would accelerate its FTA strategies, with increased impetus in negotiations, with more countries and regions. It will also include more facets in the talks.

Besides trade and investment, the China-Switzerland FTA also covers intellectual property rights, the welfare of workers and environmental protection.

While the United States is pressing hard for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, China has to be more aggressive in its own FTA strategy, with experts suggesting that Beijing needs to talk to more countries.

China is proposing a feasibility study on an FTA with the EU, and has signed an FTA with Iceland in April.

During this trip, Li has emphasized that China insists that multilateral trade talks led by Doha has great significance and should be advanced.

The China-Switzerland FTA has significant strategic economic worth for China.

The trade pact will not only help to enhance Sino-Swiss economic ties, but also help bring China and Europe closer together. The European Union is already China's largest trade partner.

Li's vision is even broader, when he says, "the FTA will boost global trade and investment."

Switzerland is economically stable, despite its small population, and it is an industry leader in finance and high-end manufacturing, as in clocks and watches.

China and Switzerland also agreed to set up a mechanism on bilateral financial dialogue, and to enhance cooperation in high-end mechanics, as well as in bio-medicals, environmental pollution and modern agriculture.

Both countries have been reliable partners for each other, with Switzerland the first nation on the European continent to recognize China's market economy.

It also initiated free trade agreement talks with China.

The Chinese premier is still a fresh face to many in Switzerland, although he will be leaving some deep impressions.

"This is the first time I have contact with him. He has a very direct personality, and is always happy. He is good at communicating with people," said Jacques Chavaz, deputy director-general of the Federal Office for Agriculture of Switzerland, who had accompanied Li on a farm visit to Guldenberg in Zurich.

(China Daily 05/26/2013 page3)