At the invitation of Maja Riniker, Speaker of the Swiss Federal Assembly’s National Council, and Andrea Caroni, President of the Council of States, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, paid an official visit to Switzerland from July 28 to 31.
In meetings with Riniker and Caroni, Zhao Leji noted that Switzerland was the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Over the past 75 years since that milestone, the two nations have fostered a spirit of equality, innovation, and mutually beneficial cooperation—setting an example that countries with different social systems, development stages, and national sizes can indeed collaborate successfully.
Zhao emphasized that China is committed to implementing the key consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries and to advancing the high-quality development of their newly upgraded strategic partnership.
He further stated that mutual respect and trust form the foundation for a stable and long-term bilateral relationship. China wishes to maintain high-level exchanges with Switzerland and looks forward to welcoming more Swiss leaders and parliamentarians to China. Notably, Switzerland was the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with China, and since its implementation, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has developed rapidly.
Beijing welcomes increased Swiss investment in China. Zhao highlighted that deepening cooperation in fields such as art, sports, and education will help strengthen the foundation of friendship and public support between the two countries. Both China and Switzerland are advocates of peace and multilateralism. It is hoped that the two nations will enhance coordination on multilateral platforms and jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism.
Source: Shishir–Alim–Shu Wei, China Media Group.