Francophone welcomes the celebration of the 65th anniversary of Sino-Swiss relations

This year will see the celebration of the 65th anniversary of Switzerland and China establishing diplomatic relations. Switzerland is the first western country that recognized the PRC and among the first western countries to build diplomatic relations with China. It was also the first western country to recognize China as a market economy in 2007 and the first country in the G20 who signed the Free Trade Agreement with China. The first European country Premier Li Keqiang visited after taking up his office in 2013 was Switzerland. [Photo by Zhang Yuchen/chinadaily.com.cn]

The first Beijing-round performance of Swiss musicians this year kicked off Thursday afternoon to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Switzerland and China.

One Hundred and twenty-four musicians from the Accordion Association in French-speaking part of Switzerland played accordions for about 45 minutes at the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing. It was their first performance in the city since arriving on April 8.

"The accordion performance today will be the start of our whole year celebration of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Switzerland-China relations," said Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Swiss ambassador to China.

The performance comprised two parts: popular classic tunes and traditional Swiss music. During the performance, they also displayed a traditional Swiss musical instrument, the alphorn, and three new pieces composed exclusively for the concert tour in China.

The last piece they played at the embassy was the well-known Chinese traditional song, Jasmine Flower, with lead singer Barbara Kosher.

All the musicians in the musical project of the Accordionists of the French speaking part of Switzerland (OASF) joined the China tour this time, according to the ambassador.