RELATIONSHIP BASED ON FIRSTS.docVIP

RELATIONSHIP BASED ON FIRSTS 　　Ahead of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum （WEF） in Davos， Switzerland， Beijing Review interviewed Swiss Ambassador to China Jean-Jacques de Dardel. An edited excerpt of the interview follows： 　　Beijing Review： In recent years， China and Switzerland have maintained intensive high-level exchanges， as frequent bilateral meetings between senior officials demonstrate. What do you think are the major reasons for such interactions between the two nations？ 　　Jean-Jacques de Dardel： China and Switzerland have maintained a diverse and in-depth bilateral relationship in a variety of areas， such as politics， economy， culture as well as science for 66 years. Both sides are unceasingly working toward deepening relations. The most notable recent testimony of this enhancement is the opening of the Swiss Consulate in Chengdu， the fifth official representation of Switzerland in China. At a time of budget constraints at home， we are expanding our presence in China， which reflects the growing importance that we attach to our most important trading partner in Asia and to its priorities and initiatives（western development strategy， the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank）. 　　What is more， from the very start of our bilateral relations―we were one of the first Western countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China―Switzerland frequently took on the role of a pioneer by establishing“firsts” or almost “firsts” in its relationship with China. Let me give you a few examples： We were one of the first countries to establish a sister city relationship in 1982； it was between the cities of Kunming and Zurich. A Swiss company―Schindler―founded the first industrial joint venture in China. Also， China and Switzerland have held a regular human rights dialogue since 1991， which―at the time―was the first bilateral dialogue of its kind. In 2007， Switzerland was among the very first to recognize China’s market e