Analysts say Sino-Swiss free trade deal to foster trade ties

Patrick Odier, chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association told Xinhua that the FTA is going to facilitate enormously the exchange of know-how, in first place it triggers the collaboration in all sectors of the industry.

"Switzerland will be beneficial in technique, construction and mechanics, and we will also have a strong improvement in the trade within the field of luxury goods and special products like chemistry," he noted.

In the financial and banking industry, he said the FTA will bring in the two-way avenue both are looking forward to.

Philippe Monnier, executive director of Greater Geneva Berne Area's Economic Development Agency also told Xinhua that the FTA will encourage bilateral trade and investment, by definition this will benefit both China and Switzerland.

Besides, the Chinese consumers will enjoy the benefits of more tariff-freed Swiss products into the Chinese market, he reckoned the FTA will attract more Chinese companies and investment into Switzerland to use the country's geographical and policy advantages to conduct business in Europe.

"In our view, the most important advantage is that Chinese business people will change their perception of Switzerland," Monnier said.

He stressed that Switzerland will no longer be seen as only a country of chocolate and cheese but also as an ideal country for international business, in particular for hosting international operations such as European headquarters.

He said compared to other European countries, Switzerland is more liberal and pro-business, and many global companies choose Switzerland for their European headquarters.

By taking advantages of the country's competitive taxation, outstanding in innovation, academia-industry technology transfer, he added that Chinese companies could better use Switzerland as a platform to scale up their presence in Europe.

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