The head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, met on 20 January his Chinese counterpart, Gao Hucheng, in the run-up to the WEF Annual Meeting. A good six months after the free trade agreement came into effect, the two ministers noted during their talks in Zurich that exporters were making good use of the new arrangement. Other subjects addressed included the appreciation of the franc following the lifting of the minimum exchange rate against the euro, and the future of World Trade Organization WTO negotiations.