China and Switzerland seal trade deal removing almost all customs duties

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin welcomed on Friday in Beijing the revision of an important trade agreement providing for the elimination of customs duties on almost all Swiss exports to the world's second largest economy. While China has erected trade barriers against many European countries and the United States in recent months, this agreement with Switzerland is closely watched as a possible test for other economies. The revised agreement provides that 99.8% of Swiss exports will benefit from tariff-free access to the Chinese market over the next ten years, up from around half previously.

In particular, customs duties will be eliminated on all Swiss watches, of which only 1% previously entered China duty-free. However, manufacturers will have to continue to pay the Chinese tax on the consumption of luxury products. Swiss cheeses and coffee, among other products, will also benefit from the elimination of customs duties, like chocolate and wine, which were already exempt.

The agreement also expands Switzerland's access to the Chinese market in several sectors, including services linked to the manufacturing industry, aviation maintenance and maritime transport. In return, it provides for the elimination of customs duties on 97.3% of Chinese agricultural exports to Switzerland, compared to 80.1% previously. A Sino-Swiss agreement closely observed The two leaders welcomed this agreement during a signing ceremony organized on Friday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

“Together, we can instill valuable confidence and greater certainty in economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe,” Xi Jinping told Guy Parmelin, according to journalists present at the ceremony. The Swiss president called the agreement a “new stage,” stressing that it “also encompasses research, innovation, science, as well as labor-related issues.” Swiss and Chinese officials announced the agreement in August, a year after US President Donald Trump imposed some of the highest customs duties in Europe on Switzerland.

The only continental European country to have a free trade agreement with China, Switzerland is closely observed for the way it balances its trade relations with Beijing and its security and technology concerns. Trade between China and Switzerland, excluding gold and other valuables, reached around 33.5 billion Swiss francs ($40.7 billion) in 2025, according to the Swiss Economy Ministry.

Machine-translated from French