Exemplary Relations.docVIP

Exemplary Relations 　　Befitting its out-of-the-box national personality， Switzerland is often branded as highly innovative， an appropriate image given not only the country’s top global ranking in the number of patents per capita， but also its relations with China. When most Western countries adopted a hostile attitude toward the newly-born People’s Republic of China （PRC） in the 1950s， Switzerland was among the first of them to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC. While the United States， the EU and Japan violate WTO rules and still refuse to recognize China’s market economy status， Switzerland acknowledged China as a market economy as early as 2007. In addition， the Alpine country was the first continental European state to ink a free trade agreement with China and was also among the first European countries to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank， a China-initiated multilateral institution aiming to provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia. 　　On the basis of this solid foundation for bilateral relations and the shared goal of development， China and Switzerland established an innovative strategic partnership during Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann’s state visit to China in April 2016. Less than one year on， Chinese President Xi Jinping made a reciprocal visit to Switzerland from January 15 to 18， Xi’s first foreign trip in 2017 and the first to the country by a Chinese head of state in 18 years. The trip has injected new impetus into Sino-Swiss cooperation and the upgrading of bilateral relations. 　　 Innovation cooperation 　　Switzerland is the first and so far only innovative strategic partner of China. The central European nation is seen as one of the most innovative countries in the world， with scientific research personnel accounting for 12 out of every 10，000 people. According to Cui Hongjian， Director of the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies， though Switzerland is not