BEIJING: China and Switzerland on Saturday signed a free trade agreement (FTA), Beijing’s first in continental Europe after its FTA with Iceland, in a deal that comes against a backdrop of trade tensions between the Asian giant and the European Union (EU). Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann inked the accord in a ceremony at the Commerce Ministry in Beijing before officials and reporters. Gao, at a post-signing press conference, said the agreement would promote trade cooperation with Europe in general. “China should launch similar cooperation with other countries in Europe, even the EU,” he added, signalling China’s desire for an FTA with the 28-nation bloc.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2013.
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