Swiss president to sign BRI deal with China

Swiss President Ueli Maurer is on a week-long trip to China together with a business and finance delegation, taking part in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

Switzerland supports the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and a memorandum of understanding (MoU), to intensify cooperation on trade, investment and project financing in third markets along the routes of the BRI, is set to be signed during his visit, said Maurer on April 25 during a press conference at the Swiss embassy in Beijing.

After Italy and Luxembourg signed an MoU in March, Switzerland's signing makes it be the latest central European country to have a BRI deal with China.

Maurer said, "The projects within the BRI are the most important investment projects of this century. There has to be investment first if we want prosperity.”

This initiative is not only serving one country but serving all mankind, and we are happy to make a small contribution to it, Maurer told the media, “As an independent small state, Switzerland decides based on our own judgment, that is, we do what we think is right.”

"I have a very deep feeling that we do these things not for our generation, but for the next generations," he said.

Maurer said he has brought Swiss skis as gift to President Xi Jinping and trust as "gift" to the Chinese people. "We hope to contribute our ability and trust to the future cooperation between China and Switzerland."

Theresa May, prime minister of United Kingdom, gave the green light to Huawei, a Chinese telecom giant based in Shenzhen, to help build UK’s 5G network, according to British newspaper Financial Times on Tuesday.

"Some Western countries are doubtful about Huawei’s involvement in 5G network, but Switzerland does not object to Huawei's participation," Maurer said.