The President of the Council of States, Mr Ivo Bischofberger (CVP, AI), will pay an official visit to China between 30 October and 3 November at the invitation of the President of the Chinese Parliament, Zhang Dejiang. He will meet with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing and hold talks with high-ranking government officials. He will also be a guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the Swiss School in Beijing.

​The President of the Council of States, Mr Ivo Bischofberger, and the President of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Zhang Dejiang, will address bilateral and international issues at their meeting. Switzerland and China have maintained good bilateral relations for many years. With the entry into force in July 2014 of the Free Trade Agreement between Switzerland and China, these relations have further intensified.

As part of the planned programme, the President of the Council of States will also meet high-ranking government officials and attend the opening ceremony of the Swiss School in Beijing as a guest of honour. As a new division of the Western Academy of Beijing, the Swiss School offers a German-speaking syllabus in an international environment. During this visit, Mr Bischofberger, will also visit a Chinese grammar school that maintains partnership relations with the Interlaken Baccalaureate School.

Mr Bischofberger will be accompanied on his visit by Ambassador Claudio Fischer, head of International Affairs and Multilingualism at the Parliamentary Services.