This page lists selected media news of general interest.

For industry-specific news go directly to each committee's news page: BFI | EM | HTR | LTCS

Are you looking for a list of Swiss and Chinese media online?

Are you looking for SwissCham News or SwissCham Photo Gallery?

China Strengthens Lobbying in Switzerland [CH] [de]
15.01.12, NZZ Online
In Autumn 2012 a new Confucius Institute shall open its doors in Zurich. The Association « Confucius-Institut-Zurich » was founded in December 2011 and is now looking for a location with help of the Zurich city administration.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming meets Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann [CN] [cn]
05.01.12, Embassy of PRC in Switzerland
On 15 December 2011, Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming was invited by Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider–Ammann for a lunch meeting, during the period of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Minister Johann Schneider–Ammann expected that more efforts from both parties would be put on bilateral trade between two countries.

A Swiss Starts His Business With Accurate Fried Bun in Wuhan [CN] [cn]
29.12.11, Tencent
A Swiss, having his Chinese name He Aojie, is running a business of fried bun which is very popular in Wuhan. After 2 years’ marketing research, he created his own “Accurate Fried Bun” with a daily sale over 1000 portions. He Aojie adheres to his accurate weights of dough and filling, namely 22 grams and 36 grams respectively. Thus, the strict quality control on each bun, which is as accurate as Swiss horologe, wins over a great many of customers to him.

Swiss Center Shanghai: a Decade of Record Growth [CH] [en]
15.12.11, Sinoptic
The Swiss Center Shanghai, by far the largest cluster of Swiss enterprises in Asia, looks back at a decade of record growth since its founding in 2000, on the anniversary day of the 50 years diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China.

Chinese Business Management Company to Established European Headquarters in Switzerland [CH] [en]
13.12.11, Sinoptic
Chinese company sim (selective international management) recently established its European headquarters in Rapperswill, Switzerland. Sim is a consulting company based in Shanghai, providing support to foreign and domestic companies primarily doing business in China or in partnership with Chinese enterprises.

On the Road in China with Swiss Literature [CH] [de]
05.12.11, Roman Bucheli, NZZ Online
Swiss Culture Foundation Pro Helvetia has been promoting the translation of Swiss literature into Chinese for a while. In different universities in Shanghai, Ningbo and Hangzhou a type of competence center has been established. Roman Bucheli gives his impressions of a tour to these universities.

Interview With Artist Sheng Qi [CH] [en]
30.11.11, 3 Dots Water
Galerie Daniel Besseiche in Geneva is holding an exhibition with the works of Sheng Qi until January 15, 2012. On this Occasion the artist gave an interview about his relation to art and China in general. Specialized in photography in his youth, Sheng Qi now focuses on paintings combining his past and future aspirations.

Agreement Between Legacy Healthcare and Tefei Biomedicine [CH] [fr]
30.11.11, Biopole
Legacy Healthcare, founded in 1995 and based at the Biopole of Lausanne University, signed an agreement with Tefei (Tianjin) Biomedicine and Technology Limited Company in October to develop their products. Legacy Healthcare develops products and treatments for Hair & Scalp disorders with special focus on Supportive Oncology treatments.

Marco Paoluzzo Publishes China Memories [CH] [fr]
28.11.11, Sinoptic
In « China Memories » Swiss photographer Marco Paoluzzo publishes the images of numerous voyages in and around China, documenting the recent history of this rapidly developing country. Paoluzzo, born in Bienne, visited China for the first time in 1998 for a book on Shanghai and has been returning frequently ever since.

Swiss Boarding Schools Attract Rich Chinese [CH] [de]
26.11.11, 20 Minutes Online
Swiss Learning, an association uniting Swiss Boarding Schools, recently opened an office in Shanghai to promote its member schools. Its goal is also to provide better information and prevent Chinese students becoming victims of recurring fraud in schools whose diplomas are not officially accredited.

Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland Visited University of Bern [CN] [cn]
24.11.11, Embassy of PRC in Switzerland
Chinese Ambassador Wu Ken was invited to visit the University of Bern on 24 November. The headmaster of the university Martin Taeuber expressed his warm welcome to Wu. Wu listened carefully to the introduction of the university and he pointed out that high technology is the key factor to improving national strength. Wu puts a lot of attention to Swiss-Sino College cooperation.

More Employees for Visa Applications [CH] [de]
24.11.11, Schweizer Fernsehen
The Swiss Federal Government is going to employ more non-diplomatic personnel to cope with the rising visa applications in emerging nations such as China, India, Russia and the Golf states. While extending the possibilities for local personnel with Schengen passport, the federal council plans to handle it with care, due to recent cases of abusive visa granting.

«Ho-la-weit-tscha-ya» Alias Helvetia [CH] [de]
24.11.11, NZZ Online
Publications on Swiss-Asian encounters have been quite popular for the last couple of years. Stefan Siegrist covers the Swiss thirst of adventure in China, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam in his new “Schweizer im Fernen Osten. Viele Loyalitäten, eine Identität.” First mentioned in an opus from emperor Qian Long, “Ho-la-weit-tscha-ya is home to tall and strong inhabitants…Public schools teaching weapon use…A place where gold could be found…Buffalos are held as domestic animals.”

Ambassador WU Met with the Mayor of Lugano Giorgio Giudici [CN] [cn]
23.11.11, Embassy of PRC in Switzerland
Ambassador Wu met with senior officials of Lugano on 22 November. Wu expressed his warm welcome to Giorgio Giudici, mayor of Lugano and highly praised Lugano’s contribution to the development of Sino-Swiss relations, especially regarding the cooperation with Beihai, Hangzhou, Changchun and other cities. Giudici said he hopes that Lugano can further contribute to development in China.

Heads of Swiss and Chinese Intellectual Property Offices Meet [CN] [cn]
22.11.11, People's Daily
On 22 November, Chinese Head of Stat Intellectual Property Office of the PRC met with Felix Addor, Deputy Director General of Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. The two parties presented their improvements in intellectual property administration and expressed their hopes for further cooperation.

Hi-tech Firms Gather in Shenzhen [CN] [en]
16.11.11, China Daily
At the China Hi-Tech Fair held from 16-21 November at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center over 100 institutions and enterprises from 19 different countries will gather to display their latest hi-tech achievements. Switzerland is represented with “My Green Energy Co Ltd.”, who provides services for a series of solar energy products, developing and selling the equipment of photovoltaic power generation. The company is seeking global investment partner but is especially focusing on China.

Taiwan-Swiss Research Group Scores Breakthrough in Solar Cell Technology [TW] [en]
16.11.11, Focus Taiwan News Channel
A research team composed of Taiwanese and Swiss chemists has developed new dye components that can highly enhance the solar conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized photovoltaic (PV) cells, the National Science Council (NSC) said 16 November. The research team , led by Yeh Chen-yu of National Chung Hsing University, Eric Diau of National Chiao Tung University, and Michael Gratzel, a professor at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, said the new invention can easily be commercialized at low cost.

Swissmem Makes the Strong Frank Responsible for Sector Losses [CH] [de]
15.11.11, Swissinfo.ch
One third of Swiss Machine, Electro and Metal (MEM) industries are currently operating with deficits, according to a survey done by Swissmem. During the second and third quarter the received orders have continued to decline. The association demands more concrete actions from the government and National Bank to set the minimum Euro-CHF exchange rate higher and push forward on the bilateral trade agreements with China and India.

Third Round of Free Trade Negotiations Between Switzerland and China [CH] [en]
14.11.11, Swiss Confederation
The third round of negotiations on the Switzerland-China Free Trade Agreement took place from 8 to 10 November 2011 in Montreux, Switzerland. Expert level discussions continued and further exchanges of information on respective regulatory systems and FTA-practices took place with regard to the following areas: trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), trade remedies, intellectual property rights, competition and dispute settlement.

Swiss Movies with International Kudos [CH] [de]
14.11.11, Swissinfo.ch
At the 11th Sichuan International TV Festival, Beatrice Bakthi was awarded with the “Grand Prize - Golden Panda Award” for her movie « Roman d’ados 2002-2008 ». Bakthi accompanied 7 teenagers from the French-speaking part of Switzerland for 7 years, documenting their everyday life and exceptional events, which both contributed to their individual evolution.

Ambassador Wu and Mrs. Wu Visited Nivarox-Far SA [CN] [cn]
12.11.11, Embassy of PRC in Switzerland
On 11 November, Ambassador Wu and his wife visited Nivarox-Far SA. Nivarox-Far SA manufactures movements for the Swatch Group. Nick Hayek, CEO of Swatch group, Stephen Urquhart, Omega President, and other senior managers welcomed them. Hayek said China had become the second largest consumer of Swiss watches. As globally biggest manufacture of watches, Swatch is putting a lot of effort in its Business in China.

Luxury Boom at its Peak? [CH] [de]
12.11.11, Nicole Rutti Ruzicic, NZZ Online
The strong upwards trend and growth rate of 2011 in the luxury industry will most probably loose some of its momentum in 2012: Business in Europe is comparatively slow when Asian tourists aren’t counted and most importantly China’s economy will rather cool down in the next couple of months, not without leaving marks in the luxury industry. Additionally the luxury sector is said to have a late-cycle bias, lagging behind other movements of the economy.

Director of Chinese State Council Information Office Met with Federal Chancellor of Switzerland [CN] [cn]
10.11.11, Embassy of PRC in Switzerland
On 7 November, Wang Chen, Director of State Council Information Office of China visited Swizerland. Accompanied by Ambassador Wu Ken, Wang met with Corina Casanova, the Federal Chancellor of Switzerland. Wang and Corina Casanova exchanged their opinions about state policies, official news release and other issues. They also expressed their willingness to improve the cooperation between China and Switzerland. Senior officers from Chinese Embassy in Switzerland, Federal Council of Switzerland and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland also participated in this meeting. Wang also visited Swissinfo and met with senior officers of Swiss media. He learnt about the development, business scope and the structure and operation model of Swissinfo.

Ambassador Wu Hosted Reception for Free Trade Delegation [CN] [cn]
10.11.11, Embassy of PRC in Switzerland
On 10 November, Ambassador Wu set a reception for Swiss and Chinese delegations, which participated in the 3rd round of Free Trade discussions. Wu praised the 3rd round to have finished successfully. The recent events having shown that and thanks to the joint effort of Swiss and Chinese people, the communication and cooperation between two countries are entering a new stage.

Free Trade With China : Farmers Association Sounds Alarm [CH] [de]
08.11.11, Bauern Zeitung
The Swiss Farmers Association requests that the agricultural industry be excluded from any free trade agreement with China. According to a recent study led by the association on the chances and risks of such an agreement, the danger for the Swiss agriculture would be huge. Even though currently the Swiss agricultural sector has a positive trade balance with China, the association argues that this was only short-lived and that Chinese competitors were rapidly augmenting their products’ quality, which should soon reverse the trade relations.

First Swiss Confucius Institute Formally Established [CH] [de]
08.11.11, DRS 2
Switzerland’s first Confucius Institute was formally established at the University of Geneva on 8 November. Differing from other Institutes such as “Goethe”, “Cervantes” or “Alliance Française” the Confucius Institute is not independent but run and financed jointly by Renmin University & Hanban and the hosting university. For its joint structure the instauration was criticized recently for the fear of certain censorship issues influencing the functioning of the institute and the content of classes given.

2011 Council of Administration of UPU Held in Berne [CN] [cn]
07.11.11, China Broadcast News
The 2011 Council of Administration of the Universal Postal Union was held in Berne between 24 October and 12 November. A delegation of officials from State Post Bureau of PRC, China Post, HongKong Post and Macau Post participated in this conference. Lin Hongliang, Head of the Department of General Affairs of State Post Bureau of PRC hosted the meeting on the 3 and 4 November.

Swiss Artist With Art Exhibition in Shanghai [CN] [cn]
07.11.11, Sohu News
On 2 November, famous Swiss video artist Beat Kuert held an art exhibition in Loftooo Art Space, Shanghai. Chinese flute player Lydia Yang played during this exposition. The melodious music interacted with Baroque pictures, underlining the whole experience. Beat Kuert approaches the manner of painting in his video art. Voiding the “linguistic minimalism” typical of the video art of the 60s he moves towards a sort of “pictorial baroque-like” expression made of strong ignition of colors, accentuated by the interventions on the images made with a computer.

Giant Stainless Steel Leica Camera Crafted by Chinese Artist [CN] [cn]
04.11.11, China Finance Online
Chinese artist Liao Yibai has crafted the world’s biggest Leica camera. Until now, Liao has crafted three giant Leica Cameras: one was shown in a Leica store in Holland, another in the Leica headquarters and a last one belongs to a Leica distributor. For his biggest Leica camera, Liao used a Summicron 50mm 1:2 lens and for the body a mixed design of M6, M7 and M9. The whole camera weighs 350kg.

Horses on Snow? How Can it Miss? [CN] [en]
03.11.11, Yang Xinwei, China Daily
Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club will host from February 4-12 2012, the inaugural FIP Snow Polo World Cup Invitational, the first of its kind in Asia. The sport of snow polo was first introduced in 1985 at the resort town of St. Moritz, Switzerland, a handful of keen polo fans decided to experiment with an old sport reinvented: polo played on snow.

China Turns to Switzerland for Ecological Know-How [CH] [de]
02.11.11, Luigi Jorio, Swissinfo.ch
China is investing billions into renewable energies and energy efficiency. Swiss firms benefit from the international cleantech boom and increasingly expand into the huge and lucrative Chinese market. LEP consultants for example, a branch of ETH Zurich, is developing a preconcept of a big ecological residential area in Ordos. LEP is one of the 100 to 150 Swiss cleantech firms already active in the Chinese market, according to the platform Cleantech Switzerland.

Swiss Firms Found Least Likely to Offer Bribes [CH] [en]
02.11.11, Swissinfo.ch
Transparency International surveyed 3,000 business executives from 28 developed and developing countries and ranked them on the likelihood their firms would pay bribes abroad. Switzerland and the Netherlands tied for first place with 8.8 points out of a possible ten as being the least likely to bribe. Emerging economic powerhouses China and Russia, which invested $120 billion (SFr106 billion) overseas in 2010, were found to be the most likely to attempt to bribe potential business partners.

The Chinese Media's Conquest [CH] [fr]
02.11.11, Celine Zund, Le Temps
China is developing its information channels across the globe and is investing billions of yuan to build up its official representation network abroad. Only in March, China State Television CCTV got installed in Geneva, to report on international politics from a Chinese point of view. Just recently Chinese government launched a 10-year program to promote the Chinese image and soft-power, with TV broadcasting playing an important role in “influencing the world more efficiently” and preventing “occidental disinformation”.