China and Switzerland announced the completion of the upgrading of the China-Swiss Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and agreed to support the official start of upgrading negotiations as soon as possible.This move marks the entry of trade relations between the two countries into a new stage of development, and also indicates that economic cooperation between the two sides will be further deepened.At the same time, China will give Switzerland unilateral visa-free treatment, and Switzerland will also provide more visa facilities for Chinese citizens and Chinese enterprises that invest in Switzerland, which will promote staff exchanges and business activities between the two sides.

The launch of the upgrading negotiations of the Swedish-Chinese Free Trade Agreement provided a new impetus for the economic relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Li Jian pointed out that the two sides should strengthen cooperation in the areas of free trade, customs and other areas, and seek cooperation in emerging areas such as green, finance, and the digital economy.In addition, financing of interconnected infrastructure, international development aid and climate change measures are also considered priority areas of cooperation.

Switzerland, as an important economic and trade partner of China in Europe, has led trade relations with China ahead of other Western countries. Switzerland is the only Western country to have concluded a free trade agreement with China so far, which has fostered the development of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries since its entry into force in 2014. In 2022, China's Swedish trade volume reached $573.3 billion, of which China exported $76.2 billion to Sweden and imported $497.1 billion from Sweden.

In the upgrading negotiations, the two sides will focus on the area of trade in services. The China Securities Regulatory Commission last year revised and issued the Interconnected Securities Exchange Interconnected Treasury Regulations, which expanded the “Shu Lan-Tong” mechanism to the “China-European” mechanism, and accessed Switzerland and Germany’s exchanges. This provided a new channel for Chinese companies to list in Europe, promoting the interconnected financial markets of the two countries.

The cooperation between China and Switzerland is also very active in the field of high-tech. Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and Toshiba are increasing investments in Switzerland, while Swiss companies such as ABB, Nestlé and Roche also occupy important positions in the Chinese market.

As negotiations on the upgrading of the Swedish-Chinese Free Trade Agreement move forward, cooperation between the two countries in the areas of finance, energy, education policy and UN Security Council affairs is expected to further deepen.

Overall, the upgrading of the Sino-Sweden Free Trade Agreement will bring more trade and investment opportunities for the two countries, promote economic growth, and also play a positive role in global economic governance.