【By Observer Net, Wang Kaiwen】Since August 7, the United States has imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss imports, far higher than other European countries. Bloomberg reported on October 12 that as the impact of US tariffs intensifies, Switzerland is accelerating its trade negotiations with China.

On October 10 local time, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held the fourth round of high-level strategic dialogue between China and Switzerland in Bellinzona, Switzerland, together with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Casis.

Bloomberg noted that both sides agreed to accelerate the process of upgrading the free trade agreement, expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, green development, digital economy, finance, and trade in services.

On October 10 local time, the fourth round of high-level strategic dialogue between China and Switzerland was held in Bellinzona, Switzerland. Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

China is the third largest trading partner of Switzerland, following the United States and the European Union.

According to Reuters, after meeting with Wang Yi on the 10th, Casis told the media that Switzerland hopes to reach a new version of the free trade agreement by early 2026.

"We are pleased that discussions on the (free trade agreement) upgrade are progressing in a constructive way, and both sides hope to complete this work as soon as possible," Casis said. "We may not be able to achieve this goal by the end of this year, but we look forward to reaching a more open and fair trade agreement based on international free trade rules at the beginning of next year."

Bloomberg pointed out that during the dialogue between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Switzerland is facing pressure from its "key ally" the United States.

President Trump previously announced a 39% tariff on imported goods from Switzerland. This rate is the highest among European countries, an increase of 8 percentage points from the 31% rate announced in early April.

US trade policies have increased uncertainty in the Swiss economy. The BBC mentioned that about 17% of Swiss exports go to the United States.

Bloomberg stated that although Switzerland still hopes to reach a more favorable trade agreement with Washington, since the implementation of the tariff in August, Swiss exports to the United States have sharply declined.

"Amid continued tensions with the United States, Switzerland is turning its attention to China," wrote the cryptocurrency news website "Cryptopolitan" on the 12th. The report pointed out that as the United States imposes high tariffs on Switzerland, Switzerland is reducing its reliance on the United States and strengthening its trade relations with China, seeking economic stability and diversification.

In 2013, China and Switzerland signed a free trade agreement, which was the first bilateral free trade agreement signed by China with a country on the European mainland. In July 2014, the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement officially came into effect. In September 2024, China and Switzerland officially launched the upgrade negotiations of the free trade agreement.

The "Common Document of the Fourth Round of High-Level Strategic Dialogue Between the People's Republic of China and the Swiss Confederation" released on October 10 stated that since the free trade agreement came into effect in 2014, it has played an important role in the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Both sides positively evaluated the progress made in the previous negotiations on the upgrade of the agreement and expressed their willingness to actively advance subsequent negotiations, striving to reach a higher-level bilateral free trade agreement as soon as possible, promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation, maintaining the rules and order of free trade, and promoting economic globalization towards a more open, inclusive, prosperous, balanced, and win-win direction.

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