Switzerland foreign minister speaks out on Chinese relations

Switzerland is to hot an offshore RMB center. In fact, Swiss foreign minister Didier Burkhalter said the current construction of the offshore RMB center in Zurich is a positive and natural step for the internationalization of the RMB.

"What happened in Zurich is a very important step for the internationalization of the RMB, and will help the process positively," Burkhalter said. "This is also an important outcome of the financial cooperation between China and Switzerland."

The minister also said that Switzerland is playing an increasingly role on the global financial market and has long been a major hub of commodity trading.

"As more commodities get traded, the need money to move. If the RMB in Switzerland widens, the context of commodity trading worldwide is facilitated via Switzerland. I think this is also a favorable plus that is drawing towards Switzerland," Burkhalter said.

On Jan 14, 2016, it was announced that China Construction Bank became the first Chinese bank to receive a license to offer commercial banking services and clear Renminbi transaction in Switzerland, which makes the offshore RMB center in Zurich become operational.

The Swiss free trade agreement with China came into force in July 2014. Burkhalter said that currently, economic ties between the two countries are developing with strong momentum.

"One and a half year is not a very long period of time but I will say the first phase of our FTA has so far been very positive, and we will keep up with the next stage, " Burkhalter said.

"Both China and Hong Kong are the most important trade partners to Switzerland in terms of trading volume. There are still areas that require better efforts from both countries, such as the area of intellectual property rights protection, and others. And this is also something that we need to solve through different levels of economic and trade dialogue."

On Friday afternoon, Burkhalter held a political dialogue with China's foreign minister Wang Yi on a wide range of issues. Wang said China was happy that Switzerland has made great efforts with China on topics such as anti-corruption, and invited Switzerland to join the 2016 G20 conference in areas such as anti-corruption and finance, which will be held in Hangzhou, China.

The year 2015 marks the 65 years anniversary since China and Switzerland officially established diplomatic relations.

Contact the writer at zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn