China, Switzerland in close contact on FTA upgrade: commerce ministry

BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- China and Switzerland have maintained close contact on upgrading their existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Tuesday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a question on the FTA based around media reports.

The two sides are actively promoting a joint study on upgrading the agreement and seeking areas where upgrades are possible, the MOC said, noting that the negotiations are not stalled.

The bilateral agreement was signed in July 2013 and entered into force in July 2014.

The spokesperson said that the agreement is high-level, rich in content and mutually beneficial, as well as playing a positive role in strengthening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

China is now Switzerland's third-largest trading partner. In 2021, the bilateral trade volume hit 44.11 billion U.S. dollars, soaring 96.7 percent year on year, according to the MOC.