China’s recent development raises hopes of global economic stabilization; Switzerland welcomes Chinese tourists: Swiss ambassadors
A passenger train drives through the Jungfrau mountains. Photo: IC
A good development of trade between China and Switzerland can be expected for the year 2023. Regarding the global economy, recent developments in China raise hopes of stabilization, Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.
“What makes me very happy in the new year is that we can soon welcome Chinese tourists back to Switzerland,” he told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri Photo: Courtesy of the Swiss Embassy in China
Since China downgraded its COVID-19 management on Jan. 8, outbound tourism has gained new impetus as many countries warmly welcome Chinese travelers.
According to a Jan. 20 release from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Chinese travel agencies and tour operators can resume pilot tours for outbound group tours and offer travelers flight and hotel packages from Feb. 6. Switzerland is one of 20 countries designated as pilot destinations for outbound group travel.
Burri noted that there are currently no government restrictions or barriers to tourists traveling to Switzerland.
The Swiss government has previously said travelers from China entering Switzerland will not be required to undergo mandatory testing for COVID-19, Reuters reported.
The Omicron variants circulating in China “pose only a low risk for the Swiss population and the Swiss health system,” the Swiss government said in a statement.
“I think we’re going to see an increasing number of visa applications in 2023,” Burri said.
According to him, the Swiss embassy in China is working hard to rebuild the capacity to process these applications that it had before the pandemic.
“The situation is unlikely to recover immediately [and return] back to 2019 [levels]. However, it is one of our priorities that we are working on and we are taking it step by step,” he said.
Along with the gradual recovery of overseas tourism, China has also witnessed the revival of the domestic tourism sector, as many scenic spots once again attracted large numbers of tourists during the Spring Festival holiday.
Personally, Burri traveled to Zhangjiajie, a famous Chinese tourist attraction in central China’s Hunan Province, during the recently ended vacation.
China’s recent downgrade of COVID-19 measures made him optimistic about the global economy stabilizing in 2023.
“However, for a simultaneous recovery, much depends on rapid normalization of global supply chains and multilateral solutions to several global problems such as sovereign debt, energy and climate crises. Overall, I’m starting the Year of the Rabbit with an optimistic outlook,” he said.
Close economic ties
At the invitation of Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and the government of the Swiss Confederation, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He attended the 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and visited Switzerland from January 15 to 19.
Liu, speaking at the forum, reiterated China’s commitment to comprehensive opening-up, international cooperation with other countries for world economic stability and development, and economic re-globalization.
He called for upholding the right principles and maintaining an effective international economic order, strengthening international macro-policy coordination, and finding a good balance between inflation and growth. He also called for a global response to climate change.
“It is a great tribute to China-Switzerland relations that Liu has chosen Switzerland for his first overseas visit after a major adjustment of China’s COVID policy and attended the World Economic Forum in Switzerland,” Burri said.
“In his special speech, Liu raised some very important points, showing that China and Switzerland have common interests in many areas. For example, Liu stressed the importance of the rule of law and the focus on an innovation-driven economy to Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter, Minister of Finance of Switzerland, and both took the opportunity to discuss priority issues related to China-Switzerland economic relations. From my understanding, it was a fruitful exchange,” he said.
For Burri, this year could be the year of rediscovery and both sides can again benefit from the direct contact experience.
“We have around 1,000 Swiss companies here in China. This year will be the year of rediscovery and getting to know each other directly and personally. Economic cooperation between the two countries will intensify,” he said.
Speaking about how Switzerland views its relationship with China at a time when the world is facing increasing uncertainties, Burri told the Global Times that China and the world are very closely linked through many types of relationships, particularly economic ties are connected.
“China has trading partners in Europe, ASEAN and the US, which are more or less three packages. When I look at Switzerland, China is also our third trading partner. So I think the relationship is so important that we should listen to each other very carefully and try to figure out how to make the most of this relationship. We should look at all the options we have for good cooperation,” he said.
He added that Switzerland and China now have “very intense” economic cooperation.
“On the one hand there is trade. China is Switzerland’s No. 3 trading partner. Trade has grown mutually over the past few years. So if I look back to 2014, when the Free Trade Agreement came into force, the volume of trade has increased by 90 percent since then. The interesting thing about this trading relationship is that it is more or less balanced. So we can say that everyone gives as much as they take and everyone takes as much as they give.”
When asked whether it is difficult to maintain close economic ties with China in the current global political environment, the ambassador said that trade also has its own drivers for many countries and especially for Switzerland.
“We focus on opportunities that are fruitful for both sides. I think those opportunities are there, and I think business people in both countries are still looking for those opportunities and trying to take advantage of them,” he said.
He noted that an important area of cooperation between the two countries is in the financial field.
“We have the fairly new tool of China-Switzerland global equity link, and a very recent phenomenon is that Chinese companies are contributing their shares to the Swiss market through Global Exchange Depositary Receipts to get Swiss investment in China. This is a new way of doing business. It opens up a lot of opportunities for both sides,” he said.
Promotion of interpersonal relationships
A new noodle restaurant in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland will be decorated with traditional Chinese red lanterns in January 2023. Photo: Xinhua
From 2006 to 2009, Burri was deputy head of mission at the Swiss embassy in Beijing. Speaking of the changes that most impressed him a decade ago, he cited the “incredible new infrastructure,” including the high-speed rail network.
“I think the high-speed rail network is something that’s really big for China because it’s more environmentally friendly than traveling by plane. In general, I find the air quality is better in Beijing and the water quality is better.”
The Swiss diplomat often posts his experiences on China’s social media platform Sina Weibo, which he believes is an important platform for making direct contact with the Chinese. He has more than 100,000 followers on Sina Weibo.
As the new Swiss ambassador to China, his priority is to defend Switzerland’s interests in China in various areas, including politics, economics and people-to-people relations.
“Normally it should be political relations first, but in my case the order is reversed because in 2025 we are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China, and that falls under political relations. In 2024 we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Switzerland and China, which is under Economic Relations. So I hope this year will be the year of human relations,” he said.