Dear Members, Partners and Friends,

We are delighted to invite you to a week of (re)discovery of Switzerland's 3rd most important trading partner since 2010: China.

Despite being a key market for numerous Swiss companies active in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, precision instruments, watches, machinery or electronics, China remains paradoxically little-known.

As its borders have remained almost sealed for 3 years, this fact finding mission aims to provide you insights into its today's business ecosystem and the way in which this country has evolved. More specifically, we aim to show you the opportunities and challenges faced by the 1’000 Swiss companies established in China.

At the same time, we'd like to unveil an aspect that is increasingly discussed yet remains mysterious to most: the innovative capacities of companies located in this country - Chinese, of course, but also international companies. Many multinationals, including Swiss ones, have indeed set up R&D centers here: Nestlé, Roche, Novartis, Schindler and ABB to name a few.

While according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Switzerland has been the undisputed champion of innovation since 2010, China has been the country filing the highest number of patents since 2019, with a steady increase. In 2021, of the 3.4 million patents filed, 46.6% were filed by China. The same goes for companies: of the 10 companies registering the highest number of patents, 3 are Chinese, including the number 1 position held by Huawei Technologies.

Want to find out more and make your own opinion?

Then join this fact finding mission that will take you through 3 locomotives of the Chinese economy and innovation: Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen. Limited to a maximum of 30 people, we encourage you to register as soon as possible for a program that is above all food for thought!

This trip is organized with the support of the Consulate General of Switzerland in Guangzhou, the Service of the Economy of the Canton of Neuchâtel (NECO), the Economy of Trust Foundation, Microcity, Alp ICT, the UIG (Union Industrielle Genevoise), P&TS, China Integrated, Switzerland Global Enterprise and the Swiss-Chinese Association – French Speaking Region.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our China Market Access Manager Romain Barrabas: romain.barrabas@swisscenters.org or 078/219.41.47.

Best regards,

Your Swiss Centers' team

Information

Target Audience:

·        People whose company already has a presence in China or is considering expanding into the country.

·        People wishing to gain a better understanding and new knowledge of Chinese business ecosystem.

·        People with a general interest and curiosity about China.

Date:
November 5 to 12, 2023

Language:
English

Registration:
Please send an e-mail to Mr. Romain BARRABAS, China Market Access Manager of the Swiss Centers by indicating the following information: full name, company name, job title, email address, cellphone number, nationality AND passport number.

Cost of Participating

Member price: CHF 6’300.-
Non-member price: CHF 7’000.-

Included: All expenses in China, including accommodation, transport, meals and organizational costs.

Non-included: International flights, visa fee (CHF 188.50)

International flight:

For those who are interested, we may be able to negotiate an attractive group price with Air China. The outbound flight would be from Geneva to Shanghai, and from Shenzhen / Hong Kong to Geneva for the return, each time with 1 maximum stopover. Please contact us if you would like to know more.

Program*

*This program is subject to change. If this is the case, visits and/or activities will be replaced by others of the same level and interest.

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