Full Text of Chinese president's signed article in Swiss newspaper (1)

Chinese President Xi Jinping published a signed article in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung on Friday under the title "A Shared Commitment to Practical Cooperation and Peaceful Development," ahead of his state visit to Switzerland, his attendance at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos and a tour of Geneva-based international organizations.

Following is the full text of the article:

A Shared Commitment to Practical Cooperation and Peaceful Development

By H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

I am very pleased to come to the beautiful country of Switzerland for my first overseas trip in 2017. This is the first time for me to visit Switzerland as Chinese President and the first state visit by a Chinese head of state in the new century.

The well-known Swiss poet and Nobel laureate Carl Spitteler once said that there is no greater happiness than having friends who share the same outlook and destiny with oneself. During my visit, I will have talks and meetings with leaders of the Swiss Federal Council and Federal Assembly and have extensive contact and discussion with people from various sectors. I will also attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2017 in Davos and visit the headquarters of UN agencies and international organizations in Geneva and Lausanne. I am very much looking forward to this trip.

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Despite the great distance between our two countries, the Chinese people are no strangers to Switzerland. Known as the roof of Europe and a leader in innovation, Switzerland boasts beautiful landscape, hard-working people and an advanced economy.

The exchange and cooperation between us go back a long way. In the early 20th century, Swiss-made clocks and watches, medicine, textiles and mechanical products were already sold in China, and Swiss financial and insurance services also had presence there.

In 1950, Switzerland was one of the first Western countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with New China. In 1954, Premier Zhou Enlai led the Chinese delegation to the Geneva Conference, unveiling to the world the diplomatic style and approach of the young People' s Republic.

Shortly after China began its reform and opening-up program in the late 1970s, a Swiss company set up the first industrial joint venture in China. At the start of this century, Switzerland was among the first European countries to recognize China as a full market economy.

In recent years, Switzerland became the first European continental country to conclude and implement a free trade agreement with China. Our two countries have taken pioneering and innovative steps in our engagement with each other, such as Switzerland' s support for the internationalization of the RMB, its participation in the founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and mutual visa exemption for diplomatic passport-holders of our two countries. These have set a good example for cooperation between China and other European countries.

The China-Switzerland relationship is growing from strength to strength. During his state visit to China last April, President Johann Schneider-Ammann and I announced the establishment of an innovative strategic partnership between the two countries, the first of its kind for China featuring innovation. This marked a new phase of our bilateral relations.

The relations between our countries are a model of friendship and cooperation between countries that are different in size, social system and development stage. This is made possible by our people' s mutual goodwill, by a shared commitment to growing our bilateral relations on the basis of equality, innovation and win-win cooperation, and above all, by our respect for each other' s social system and development path.

In a complex and fast-changing world beset by weak economic recovery, China and Switzerland need to work together to deepen the innovative strategic partnership across the board. This will not only benefit our peoples and grow China-Europe relations, but also contribute to the steady progress of international relations, global recovery and fair trade.

Going forward, we need to deepen our engagement in the following areas:

- Maintaining high-level exchanges. We should leverage the dialogue and consultation mechanisms at various levels and show mutual understanding and support on issues concerning each other' s core interests and major concerns.

- Breaking new ground in practical cooperation. The newly established Sino-Swiss High-level Innovative Dialogue will enable us to promote collaboration between our companies, universities and research institutes and in energy conservation, environmental protection, climate change, IPR protection, financial services, eco-agriculture and social security. We may also increase coordination and cooperation at the UN and other multilateral organizations and in international affairs, work for the peaceful settlement of international disputes and promote stability in the world.

- Expanding people-to-people exchanges. With the signing of the new cultural cooperation agreement, the establishment of the Chinese cultural center in Bern and the launch of the year of tourism, we are well placed to expand people-to-people and youth exchanges, facilitate personnel visits, and beef up cooperation in tourism, winter sports and vocational education and at the subnational level. All this will help cement public support for China-Switzerland relations.

- Improving our Free Trade Area. We may actively explore the possibility of upgrading the Free Trade Agreement, and set a good example of promoting the free and open international trade and investment system. We may also step up China-Europe cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative through the AIIB and the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries. (mo