Seventy-five years ago, Switzerland became one of the first Western countries to recognise the newly founded People’s Republic of China. Left, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, Chou En Lai, with Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Petitpierre, during his visit to Switzerland, 1954.
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January 17, 2025 – 11:00 12 minutesChina has been labelled by a former NATO secretary-general as the leader of a “new axis of evil”. External link Switzerland is a small democratic country that has always adhered to the principle of neutrality. Their 75 years of diplomatic relations have been mostly friendly, despite a cold spell after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.After publicly criticising China’s human rights record in 1999, Switzerland became the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with the Asian country in 2013, with the aim of obtaining privileged market access.Switzerland unveiled a China strategy for the first time in 2021, in which it questioned its business-friendly approach in light of reports of “a deteriorating human rights situation in China”.It has so far refrained from following European Union countries in sanctioning the country for abuses against the Uyghur minority.January 17, 1950: Switzerland recognises the People’s Republic of China
The 75 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China began with a telegram. On January 17, 1950, the then-Swiss president, Max Petitpierre, wrote to his Chinese counterpart Mao Zedong, expressing Switzerland’s willingness to establish diplomatic relations: “[The Swiss government] has today de jure recognised the central government of the People’s Republic of China, with whom it will soon establish diplomatic relations”. This made Switzerland one of the first non-Communist European countries to recognise Mao’s regime, shortly after the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries did so.
A telegram sent by the Swiss president Max Petitpierre to his Chinese counterpart Mao Zedong on January 17, 1950.
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It was a bold move. On October 1, 1949, after winning an eight-year long civil war, Mao proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Communist country with the world’s largest population. As a result, the nationalist Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island of Taiwan and founded the Republic of China. Both struggled for international recognition.On October 7, 1949, Switzerland decided that as soon as 20 or 30 countries recognised the People’s Republic of China, it would follow suit.Swiss historian and political scientist Regula Stämpfli attributes Switzerland’s relatively early recognition of the People’s Republic of China to its awareness of China’s enormous potential and its key geopolitical pos