The Sino-Swiss Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has since this July been in effect for 4 years. As the first free-trade agreement China closed with a continental European country, this FTA marked an important milestone for Switzerland and China to foster commercial ties in meaningful and innovative ways.

But to what extent has the FTA been utilized across industries? Does the FTA create more business revenue and bilateral trade? Most importantly, how can the FTA be further developed and improved?

With the aim of shedding light on this agreement, a research-based assessment of the Sino-Swiss FTA has been carried out. The research results was published on September 26, 2018, in the Sino-Swiss FTA 2018 Academic Evaluation Report.

Behind this work is a team of academics of the Sino-Swiss Competence Center (SSCC) from the University of St.Gallen (HSG), the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), and Nanjing University. Swiss Centers China were delighted to have also been one of the research partners.

“In the current global environment where globalization has been sidelined, the challenges China and Switzerland face in the promotion of free markets will not lessen, au contraire. These forces however will only be an incentive for even stronger Sino-Swiss collaboration.” As Dr. Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Swiss Ambassador to China Embassy, put it, “The continuous honing of the Sino-Swiss FTA and its implementation, enhanced by the valuable data presented in this report, will be part of this effort.”

To access the report please click here: Sino-Swiss FTA – 2018 Academic Evaluation Report