The number two in the foreign ministry met with a Chinese vice minister for a “political dialogue”. It was about broader free trade, human rights and Taiwan.
On the day of State Secretary Fasel’s visit to Beijing, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi received the head of Russia’s Security Council, former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is wanted for alleged war crimes.
Ah, the intricacies of diplomacy. On Tuesday, the State Secretary in the Foreign Ministry, Alexandre Fasel, visited one of the four Chinese Vice Foreign Ministers, Deng Li, in Beijing for a regular “political dialogue”. The two sides then published very different communiqués, which underline the priorities of both sides – and which once again show Switzerland’s special role in Western relations with China.
The Foreign Ministry published a much longer, more detailed statement, which specifically named several topics for discussion, such as an “inventory of bilateral relations including human rights dialogue”. It was also about the “situation in Xinjiang and Tibet,” the department specified upon request.
Other topics included economic relations and the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. Both sides discussed the Chinese-Brazilian initiative for the war in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said. In September, during the UN General Assembly in New York, Switzerland was the only western country to take part in a meeting on the initiative, which has so far had largely no consequences.
Switzerland is considered a model for the West
China’s statement, on the other hand, mainly celebrated – with the usual slogans – bilateral relations as a “model for peaceful coexistence, mutual benefit and win-win exchanges between China and the West.”
Along with Iceland, Switzerland is the only European country that has a free trade agreement with China. It dates from 2014. Since September, at the urging of Switzerland, the two countries have been negotiating to “optimize” the agreement. This is particularly about improved market access for more products with fewer tariffs. China is the fifth most important export market for Switzerland.
If the two countries agree on an expanded agreement, it could fail because the people are increasingly critical of China – the Greens are already threatening a referendum. Center President Gerhard Pfister also expressed skepticism in the “NZZ am Sonntag”: “China is in an alliance with Russia, which in turn threatens the security of Europe. “You should ask yourself how sensible it is to use such power to promote free trade.”
In general, parts of parliament think that the Federal Council is appearing too conciliatory towards the increasingly aggressive Chinese government. The Foreign Policy Commission in the National Council wants to persuade the Federal Council not to scrap the China strategy that was only published in 2021 at the end of the year, but rather to update it.
Switzerland emphasizes one-China policy
In January, Taiwan-friendly MPs were annoyed that the Federal Council did not congratulate the democratic island on its successful presidential election – unlike the EU, the USA and Japan. When asked, the Foreign Ministry simply wrote that State Secretary Fasel and Vice Minister Deng had also exchanged views on Taiwan.
China’s brief communiqué continued: Fasel had “strongly” reiterated Switzerland’s one-China policy, according to which Bern officially only maintains diplomatic relations with Beijing, not with Taipei. China wants to maintain world peace and stability together with Switzerland.
Also on Tuesday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi received the Secretary General of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu. As defense minister, he was responsible for the attack on Ukraine and is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
