The rift between those in favour of free trade with China and those against is mainly about economics and moral values. China’s growing hunger for power in the world has obviously not escaped the notice of Swiss politicians. In the parliament in Bern, Chinese global ambitions are now discussed and observed more critically than they were in 2013, when the free trade agreement between the two countries was signed.
Scepticism and concern are rife across all parties. In September, the House of Representatives decided that major Swiss companies could no longer simply be taken over by foreign investors. The bill External link was unofficially called “Lex China”.
For the leftwing Social Democratic Party and Green Party in particular, Switzerland’s ties with China are already too close. Most recently, Green parliamentarian Nicolas Walder demanded that Switzerland terminate the free trade agreement because of Chinese human rights violations. Parliament rejected this motion External link in February.
Industry and commerce, meanwhile, are making active use of the resulting freedom of trade. All figures are heading upwards – but there is still room for improvement. This explains why Switzerland is now launching the second stage.
It started negotiations to update the agreement this week. While the European Union, the US and other western nations are increasingly taking an anti-China stance, Switzerland is snuggling up more closely to it than many other nations. China has only 20.
