Swiss mark free trade deal with China visit
World Radio Switzerland
Swiss mark free trade deal with China visit
17 July 2013
President Ueli Maurer began his 5-day official visit to China today.
He was welcomed by troops from the People’s Liberation Army at a barracks near Beijing ahead of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The trip comes just days after Switzerland and China signed a free trade agreement.
One criticism of those talks was that China’s human rights record wasn’t on the agenda, something which may be addressed this time around as Maurer told Swiss German broadcaster SRF.
“Of course in our political, economic cooperation, human rights also play a role. However, we must be cautious here. Switzerland is not the world’s teacher. There are different stories, different cultures and that is to be considered too.”
