China-Switzerland Trade Pact Set for Major Overhaul

Switzerland and China have agreed on an updated free trade deal that will significantly boost Swiss access to its third-largest trading partner. The agreement, reached after negotiations between Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Bern, is expected to increase bilateral trade.

Under the new terms, 99.8% of Swiss exports can enter the Chinese market duty-free, an upgrade from the existing deal where only around half of Swiss shipments benefited from this arrangement. Almost all Chinese exports to Switzerland are already duty-free under their 2014 free trade agreement, which was Beijing's first such pact with a continental European economy.

The updated deal covers additional areas, including rules of origin and trade facilitation, trade in services, digital trade, competition, and economic and technical cooperation. China is currently Switzerland's third-largest trade partner after Germany and the United States, with bilateral trade totaling 46 billion Swiss francs ($57.6 billion) so far this year.

Trade between the two countries has expanded significantly since 2015, from 31.7 billion Swiss francs to 51.2 billion Swiss francs last year, according to figures from the Swiss customs office. China is a major market for Swiss chemicals, pharmaceuticals, precision instruments, and watches.