People visit the booth of Switzerland at the China National Convention Center during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Ren Chao)
“It’s good news for the Chinese economy because the lockdown ended,” Felix Sutter told Xinhua in a video interview. “The manufacturers are more flexible to decide now whether they want to lower or increase production.”
By Martina Fuchs
GENEVA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) — The president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) on Thursday welcomed China’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and said he was bullish about the outlook for the Chinese economy this year and about restarting business relations between the two countries.
“It’s good news for the Chinese economy because the lockdown ended,” Felix Sutter told Xinhua in a video interview. “The manufacturers are more flexible to decide now whether they want to lower or increase production.”
It comes as China has made an array of adjustments to its COVID-19 response. Effective Jan. 8, the country has also removed certain COVID-19 restrictions on international passenger flights.
Inbound passengers arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in east China’s Shanghai, Jan. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
CHINA’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts China’s economy to grow by 4.4 percent this year and consumer prices to increase by 2.2 percent.
Asked about his outlook, Sutter said he expected “growth of around 5 percent for 2023.”
“I assume in the third quarter things will loosen up, everyone will be back in business mode, contracts will be signed and the economy will be back on its track,” he said.
Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last month showed that the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 1.6 percent year-on-year in November, down from the 2.1 percent uptick in October.
“With an overall global supply crunch for energy and raw materials due to the security situation in Europe … we expect that prices for energy and raw materials will go up,” Sutter said.
A man shops at a supermarket in Congjiang County, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, Oct. 14, 2022. (Photo by Lu Zhongnan/Xinhua)
SINO-SWISS RELATIONS
Since 2010, China has been Switzerland’s biggest trading partner in Asia and its third largest globally after the European Union (EU) and the United States. The two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that entered into force on July 1, 2014.
“Switzerland has a joker, it has the free trade agreement,” Sutter said. “The free trade agreement has doubled the volume of exports and imports between China and Switzerland. That is something we can really bet on and rely on to help with our relationship.”
“That’s an important element that also makes Switzerland a bridgebuilder between China and Europe,” he noted.
The sign for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2022 is seen in Davos, Switzerland, May 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Sutter said that the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Jan. 16-20 will inject fresh impetus into the two countries’ business relations.
The business leader is expecting “quite a number of Chinese delegations” coming to the WEF in Davos, which are the first pioneering group of Chinese businesspeople returning to Switzerland.
“Three years have been a long time of not talking to each other … We need to understand each other’s needs and interests and start from a fresh point to see how we can best cooperate and work together,” Sutter said. ■
