From 4 to 6 February, Federal Councillor Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf was in Beijing. She held talks with Finance Minister Lou Jiwei as well as with Zhou Xiaochuan, the Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The talks allowed the Head of the FDF reaffirm Switzerland’s interest in establishing a renminbi hub. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and China’s central bank, the PBOC, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 21 January while in Davos. Moreover, China granted Switzerland a quota of RMB 50 billion under the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) programme. Federal Councillor Widmer-Schlumpf thanked the Chinese for the efforts already made to strengthen financial relations. She also welcomed the annual financial dialogue between Switzerland and China.ÊThis was agreed upon in December 2013 and a third round should take place in mid-2015. 2015 also marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the People’s Republic of China. A ceremony took place at the Swiss embassy in Beijing, which made it possible for the Federal Councillor to talk with local representatives of the Swiss financial centre as well as with Chinese representatives from the areas of culture, academia and business.