Swiss Centers Celebrates 25 Years of Building Bridges Between Switzerland and China

• Swiss Centers marks 25 years as a non-profit platform supporting Swiss enterprises in China, with more than 500 companies served.
• By lowering market entry hurdles, Swiss Centers has built the largest cluster of Swiss companies in Asia, operating across Shanghai, Tianjin, and Changzhou.
• The anniversary celebration in Neuchâtel took place at a time when international trade and globalization is facing challenges. The event gathered academic, government and industrial leaders sharing their experiences and views on how Swiss businesses can remain competitive amid these changes.

Neuchâtel (October 2, 2025) – Swiss Centers, the leading non-profit Sino-Swiss public-private partnership supporting Swiss companies in China, marked its 25th anniversary with a celebratory event gathering Swiss and Chinese officials, business leaders, and long-standing partners. Since its founding in 2000, Swiss Centers has become a vital gateway for Swiss enterprises entering and thriving in the Chinese market. 2025 also marks the 75th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China.

Created to lower market entry hurdles for Swiss enterprises, Swiss Centers today operates locations in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Changzhou. Over the past quarter-century, it has supported more than 500 companies, facilitated thousands of business contacts, and built the largest cluster of Swiss companies in Asia. By offering office and workshop space, practical services, and strategic expertise, Swiss Centers enables Swiss SMEs to scale and succeed in China.

The event welcomed more than 120 guests from Swiss companies and institutions. Mrs. Florence Nater, State Councilor, Ministry of Economy and Social Cohesion, Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel, highly praised Swiss Centers’ achievements and its essential role to the Neuchâtel and Swiss economy as “a small but indispensable piece to a watch movement”. His Excellence Mr. Qian Minjian, the Ambassador of People’s Republic of China in Switzerland also remarked on the successful cooperations between Switzerland and China throughout 75 years of bilateral relations, and the important contributions of Swiss Centers in facilitating trade and investment between the two countries.

In his keynote address, Prof. Arturo Bris, Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, underlined that Swiss companies must remain confident while navigating today’s shifting global environment. With geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and economic uncertainties shaping international business, Prof. Bris stressed that the strengths of Switzerland – innovation, quality, and trust – continue to be decisive assets. After the keynote, a panel of four experts from academia, industry, institutions, and technology journalism discussed how Swiss enterprises should prioritise long-term competitiveness over short-term volatility. They emphasised that resilience, adaptability, and diversification are key to thriving amid global challenges.

The anniversary also highlighted the trust and collaboration of partners and clients who have grown alongside Swiss Centers. Sacha Bachmann, Consul General of Switzerland in Shanghai, described Swiss Centers in three words: “Valuable, Gateway, China. Swiss Centers has been a vital player in the Swiss business landscape in China. Its insights, services, and Sino-Swiss cooperation promotion are well appreciated by Swiss companies and stakeholders alike.”

Manuel Inauen, CEO of KUK Electronic, reflected on a long-standing partnership: “Swiss Centers gave us the opportunity to use their facility when we started in China in 2004 – and today we are still there. Swiss Centers always had an open ear for me when I started in my role as CEO. It is a company we can truly trust.” Similarly, Pascal Schumacher, CCO of OM Pharma, praised the ease of their setup: “The solution was very easy – I call it a plug-and-play solution. Everything is taken care of, very responsive and fast. We were operational in China very quickly.”

Others emphasized the broader impact of Swiss Centers. Jürg Burri, Ambassador of Switzerland to China, noted: “Swiss Centers is a very good event organizer, very successfully representing Swiss wines in China, and working hand in hand with SwissCham and the Swiss consulates. This cooperation between Swiss entities is very important.”

For Daniel Heusser, General Manager of Virtuarch, Swiss Centers has been central to community building: “A big achievement of Swiss Centers is the cluster of Swiss companies in Shanghai – the biggest such cluster of Swiss SMEs in China. Swiss Centers is a big pillar of the Swiss community here.”

Mr. Yang Yi, Managing Director China of Sonceboz, underlined the spirit of cooperation: “Swiss Centers has helped numerous Swiss enterprises build bridges to develop in China. Pragmatism and integrity are at the heart of our cooperation.”

Mr. Zhang Yejiong, President of Sika China, highlighted Swiss Centers’ role in advancing sustainability and innovation: “Swiss Centers has been vital to so many success stories in China – including Sika. They help Swiss companies deepen innovation, strengthen ESG practices, and accelerate localization.”

Reflecting on the 25-year milestone, Dr. Jean-Jacques de Dardel, President of Swiss Centers, and former Swiss Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (2014-2019), emphasized the organization’s mission: “For 25 years, Swiss Centers has been dedicated to building bridges between Switzerland and China. This anniversary is not only a celebration of our past achievements but also a commitment to the future. We will continue to provide Swiss companies with the platform, expertise, and trust they need to innovate, grow, and succeed in the Chinese market.”

Picture legend: Swiss Centers marked 25 years of fostering exchange and cooperation between Switzerland and China. (Copyright: swisscenters.org)

Picture legend: Florence Nater, State Councillor of the Canton of Neuchâtel, commended Swiss Centers for its achievements. (Copyright: swisscenters.org)

Picture legend: In his address, Qian Minjian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Switzerland, highlighted 75 years of successful bilateral cooperation. (Copyright: swisscenters.org)

Picture legend: The Swiss Centers team marks its 25th anniversary in Neuchâtel. (Copyright: swisscenters.org)

 

About the Swiss Centers:

Founded in 2000 as a non-profit Sino-Swiss public-private partnership, the Swiss Centers are by far the largest cluster of Swiss companies in Asia.

Swiss Centers’ practical solutions supported the businesses of over 500 companies in China – both SMEs and large enterprises. Among them, the Swiss Centers have established more than 100 companies in China, both B2B and B2C, production companies and offices, active in various fields. In cooperation with the diplomatic representations in China, the Swiss Centers also conducts surveys that provide the most detailed expertise available on the situation of Swiss companies in China, and at the same time promotes the Swiss Made brand and Switzerland as a country for quality, innovation and industrial leadership.

With locations strategically situated on China’s dynamic East Coast (Shanghai, Changzhou and Tianjin), the Swiss Centers are constantly adapting to the needs of the Swiss economy:

• Instant physical office space as well as ready-to-use workshops, showrooms, and warehouses
• Relations with local Chinese authorities and connections to Swiss government and institutions in China
• Support for secure technology transfer and intellectual property protection
• Access to professional services tailored to SMEs in all aspects of setting up and developing business in China (legal, tax, accounting, recruitment, HR management, IT, marketing)
• Unique solutions such as hosting employees locally or storing and delivering goods on behalf of clients in the Shanghai free trade zone to facilitate business development in China and the rest of Asia

For more information and some reference cases, kindly visit our website www.swisscenters.org and our LinkedIn page http://www.linkedin.com/company/swiss-center-shanghai

Read Press Release in French and German.

Media Contact: Bernhard Hagen, Tel: +43-664-7348-3730, press@swisscenters.org