'For Switzerland, the most valuable gains lie not only in lower tariffs, but more importantly in expanding trade in services and access, mutual recognition and conformity assessment of productive services, and cooperation in AI and sustainable development — an important step forward,' said Martin Mueller, Honorary Chairman of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in China and President of the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce in South China, in Haikou on October 31.
The protocol upgrading the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement was signed on October 30, marking a shift in bilateral economic and trade cooperation from tariff reduction-centered to equal emphasis on tariffs and rules. Mueller, speaking at the 92nd China Reform International Forum which opened in Haikou on October 31, called it 'good news'.
Switzerland is an important partner of China, with bilateral trade reaching $49.04 billion in 2025. Under the signed upgrade protocol, the two sides improved eight existing chapters — trade in goods, rules of origin and implementation procedures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, trade in services, investment, competition, and economic and technical cooperation — and added two new chapters on digital trade and trade and sustainable development.
Mueller said Swiss companies are already deeply engaged in the Asia-Pacific: in 2025, goods input from the region equaled 29% of Swiss GDP, and Swiss companies employ about 51,000 people in the region.
He noted the highlight of the signing is not only that zero-tariff products cover more than 99% of trade value, but also the breakthroughs in trade in services and digital trade.
China's Ministry of Commerce said earlier that in the current uncertain international environment, the signing of the protocol fully demonstrates the two sides' clear choice of certainty and support for free trade, providing an important example for countries to jointly meet international economic and trade challenges.
Mueller believes Switzerland's market access in Southeast and South Asia has shifted from scattered bilateral arrangements to an integrated network. In his view, Switzerland's Asia-Pacific layout should go beyond pure goods exports and, relying on regional integration, build a risk-buffering tool against economic and trade uncertainty.
