GENEVA, Switzerland: Ongoing negotiations to renew its free trade agreement with China have slowed due to the Swiss assuming a more critical view of Beijing’s human rights record, the Swiss media reported.
When Switzerland and China signed a free trade agreement in 2013, it was the first in continental Europe.
In these latest negotiations, Switzerland has sought to extend tariff reductions to more Swiss products and to add sustainability features to the agreement.
However, Beijing has not shown interest in the discussions.
“So far it has not been possible to agree on a common list of topics that should be explored in greater depth,” Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs told newspaper SonntagsBlick.
Those with knowledge about the negotiations have said that Switzerland has become more critical of China’s human rights record.
A Swiss parliamentary move recently passed by the National Council’s Legal Affairs Committee denounced forced labor of Uyghurs in northwest China, describing it as “a real problem.”
Many in the west, along with rights groups, have accused the Chinese of detaining and torturing Uyghurs and other minorities in camps.
Beijing has continually denied such accusations, claiming the camps are vocational training facilities to combat religious extremism.
However, caution was suggested by Jean-Philippe Kohl, of the industry association Swissmem, who told the media that Switzerland should pursue quiet diplomacy on China’s human rights record.
“If we, as a small economy, constantly point the finger of rebuke at China, nothing will change, except that relations will eventually break down,” he said.
