Swiss watch is a very characteristic of the national traditional manufacturing industry,
Swiss banking industry is also very outstanding. Nescafe these beverage industry, the Swiss army knife industry, the Swiss Bandera music industry and the tourism industry
Switzerland not only has the international leading technology and products in the industrial fields of electromechanical metal, chemical and pharmaceutical, and watch manufacturing, but also its banking and insurance industries are also renowned in the world. The following is a brief introduction to each of Switzerland's major industries.
Mechanical, electrical and metal processing industry is the first pillar
Mechanical, electrical and metal processing industry is the first pillar of Switzerland's industrial sector, employing half of the total number of people employed in the industrial sector, and accounting for 40% of Switzerland's total export value.
Swiss exports of more than 2 billion Swiss francs of fist products include: medical instruments and equipment (accounting for 11.1% of the total exports of electromechanical products), machine tools, mechanical metrology, testing and tuning equipment, electronic switchgear, printing machinery, electrical equipment, machine parts, molds and dies, as well as turbine and power equipment.
The dominant products with an export value of more than 1 billion Swiss francs also include pumps, compressors, ventilation equipment, textile machinery, road vehicles, electronic parts, communications equipment, heating and cooling equipment, aluminum products, aerospace products, home appliances and office equipment.
Switzerland's electromechanical industry is characterized by both large, well-known companies and numerous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For example, ABB's power stations and power transmission and distribution equipment, Schindler's elevators, Sura and Rieter's textile machinery, Fainture's universal punching machines, AgieCharmilles' EDM machines, and Bühler's food-processing equipment are among the finest of their kind in the international market, and are favored by many professional manufacturers and customers all over the world.
The European Union is the traditional market for the Swiss electromechanical industry, with more than 60% of Swiss electromechanical products going to the EU each year, followed by Asia (15.3%) and North America (10%). China has overtaken Japan as the largest customer for Swiss M&E products, with a 3% share.
Chemicals and pharmaceuticals are export-oriented
Switzerland is a major producer of pharmaceuticals, with world-leading pharmaceutical and chemical technologies and famous pharmaceutical and chemical producers such as Novartis and Roche. The types of pharmaceuticals are relatively concentrated in specific areas, such as antivirals, drugs for respiratory diseases and cephalosporin antibiotics.
Due to the small domestic market, Swiss pharmaceutical production is export-oriented. In the World Trade Organization's 2006 trade rankings, Switzerland is the world's 9th largest exporter of chemical and pharmaceutical products. Ninety-five percent of the products of local Swiss companies are exported, of which 60 percent go to the European Union.
The output value of the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry accounts for 3.3% of Switzerland's GDP. The vast majority of Switzerland's chemical and pharmaceutical products are concentrated in the field of specialty chemicals, and the proportion of specialty chemicals accounts for more than 90% of the total, which is in stark contrast to other countries with well-developed chemical industries.
Switzerland's special chemical products are very wide-ranging, more than 30,000 kinds, but the global annual demand for these products is only a few tons or less. The broad product categories of the Swiss chemical-pharmaceutical industry include: pharmaceuticals and diagnostic technology, fine chemicals, vitamins, flavors and fragrances, plant protection products, veterinary medicines, industrial specialties, dyes and coatings. Specialty chemicals are the lifeblood of the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry and are the main source of export earnings for the industry.
From the sales development trend of all kinds of Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical products in the past years, the direction of the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry is the development of life sciences and specialty chemicals. Three-quarters of them are so-called "life science products", i.e., chemicals that act on the metabolic processes of organic living organisms, including pharmaceuticals, vitamins, fine chemicals, diagnostic drugs and plant protection products.
Watchmaking is a traditional industry
Watchmaking is a traditional industry in Switzerland. More than 95% of Swiss watch production is exported. It is now the world's largest exporter of watches by value, with exports of 12.3 billion Swiss francs in 2005 and 13.7 billion Swiss francs in 2006. 2006 watch exports to Hong Kong, China and mainland China were the second (6.1 billion US dollars) and third (2 billion US dollars).
Ninety percent of Swiss exports in 2006 were watches, amounting to 12.7 billion Swiss francs and 24.9 million pieces. These were, in order of export value, steel watches, gold watches, bimetallic (steel and gold) watches and platinum watches. Three of the world's four largest watch groups are Swiss enterprises, namely Swatch, Rolex and RICHEMONT.
The world-class reputation of the Swiss watch industry comes to a large extent from its stable quality and reliable performance, and generation after generation of representative craftsmen have won this honor with their wisdom and sweat. The Swiss watch industry attaches great importance to the use of brand names and marks of origin, which makes the brand name effect and the appeal of "Swiss Made" complement each other and provide consumers with the best quality assurance.
The banking sector has a long-standing reputation
The Swiss banking sector manages more than 3.3 trillion Swiss francs (about 2.75 trillion U.S. dollars) in assets, half of which come from other countries. Switzerland is the world's largest offshore financial center, surpassing London, New York and Frankfurt with a 35% market share, and is recognized as a global leader in international asset business management. The industry concentrates more than 3% of the Swiss labor force and generates a strong 10% of the value added to the Swiss economy.
Swiss banks have strict confidentiality mechanisms. Violators are not only subject to civil liability, but also to criminal law. 1998 saw the entry into force of the Swiss Federal Anti-Money Laundering Act, which sets out the duties and obligations of banking institutions in anti-money laundering activities, as well as the reporting obligations of other financial intermediaries, and Swiss banks have one of the world's leading asset management businesses. Switzerland is now the global leader in the multinational asset management business.
Swiss banks focus on developing highly qualified managers. Swiss banks invest large sums of money each year in industry training, creating a large number of high-quality financial managers. Swiss banks also recruit from abroad to make up for the weakness of the shortage of human resources in the domestic market.
Insurance industry attaches importance to the Chinese market
Switzerland's insurance industry has a long history, outstanding reputation, since the first half of the 19th century, the germ of the development of the Swiss insurance industry, has become an important financial services sector with nearly 200 insurance companies, the total amount of annual premiums of more than 190 billion Swiss francs, the number of domestic employment of more than 40,000 people.
Swiss insurance companies are very active abroad, and the export surplus of insurance services contributes significantly to Switzerland's balance of payments.
Swiss insurance companies have always attached great importance to the Chinese market, and well-known companies such as Zurich Group, life insurance companies, Fonterra and reinsurance companies have set up representative offices in China.
China-Switzerland bilateral economic and trade relations
Switzerland is our tenth largest trading partner in Europe. According to our customs statistics, the bilateral trade volume in 2006 amounted to 6.76 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%. Among them, I exported 2.51 billion U.S. dollars and imported 4.26 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 28.9% and 9.7% respectively. The Chinese side had a deficit of 1.75 billion U.S. dollars. China is Switzerland's second-largest trading partner and top source of imports in Asia after Japan.
Major commodities exported to Switzerland include electromechanical products, textiles and garments, footwear, precision instruments, watches and jewelry, chemical and pharmaceutical products, etc., accounting for about 70% of the total exports. Among them, the electromechanical products are the largest commodities exported to Switzerland.
Mechanical and electrical products are the top commodities imported from Switzerland, followed by chemical and pharmaceutical products and precision instruments/jewelry (including watches). These three categories of goods account for 80% of the total imports.
Swiss investment in China ranks sixth among European countries. Swiss companies have set up a number of joint ventures in the electromechanical, food and chemical industries. As of the end of March 2007, I have approved a total of 977 Swiss investment projects in China, and the actual utilization of Swiss capital is 2.61 billion U.S. dollars. With the opening up of our service industry to the outside world, many Swiss companies have also entered the Chinese financial and insurance market.
Switzerland is the fourth largest source of technology import in Europe after Germany, France and Italy. By the end of March 2007, I had approved 1,447 contracts for technology introduction from Switzerland, amounting to about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars.
In December 1974, the two countries signed a trade agreement and set up the Sino-Swiss Joint Commission on Trade (at the level of divisions and bureaus), which has held 16 meetings alternately in Beijing and Bern so far.
The 16th meeting was held in Berne in October 2004, chaired by Sun Yongfu, Director General of the European Department of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, and Ambassador Reding, Director General of Bilateral Relations of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, on the Swiss side. The 17th meeting will be held on May 29, 2007 in Beijing.
Source: Department of European Affairs, Ministry of Commerce