China and Switzerland have concluded negotiations to upgrade their free trade agreement, a move set to deepen bilateral economic ties and provide businesses with greater certainty amid rising global trade tensions, according to information released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Swiss President Guy Parmelin jointly announced the completion of the negotiations in Bern on Thursday and signed a memorandum of understanding.

The two sides began negotiations in September 2024 and, according to the Ministry of Commerce, after five rounds of talks, the upgraded agreement will provide a higher level of two-way opening-up in areas including trade in goods and services, investment and trade rules, creating new opportunities for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

China is ready to work with Switzerland to formally sign and implement the upgraded agreement as soon as possible and further strengthen bilateral economic and trade ties, the ministry statement read.

Parmelin, who also heads Switzerland's Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, described the agreement as an important milestone in bilateral relations which will provide a more stable, transparent and predictable institutional framework for long-term business development in both countries.

Parmelin added that the agreement sends a positive signal of the two countries' commitment to openness, free trade and a rules-based international economic and trade environment.

The China-Switzerland FTA was originally signed in July 2013 and took effect a year later. It was China's first free trade agreement with a country in continental Europe.

According to the commerce ministry statement, following the conclusion of the negotiations, China and Switzerland will follow their relevant domestic procedures to enable the early signing of the upgrade protocol.