In December, the Swiss government quietly abandoned plans to adopt EU sanctions targeting Chinese individuals and companies accused of human rights violations. Switzerland had concerns about potential retaliation from China but did not disclose the decision due to unspecified legal reasons, as reported by NZZ am Sonntag.
The Swiss Economics Ministry explained that the Federal Council (government) considered various foreign policy and legal factors when making this decision.
The European Union (EU) had initiated “thematic” sanctions against specific Chinese entities in 2021, primarily related to human rights abuses, with threats to sanction companies supporting Russian aggression in Ukraine.
China’s ambassador to Bern, Wang Shihting, cautioned Switzerland in November against imposing sanctions, emphasizing the importance of maintaining friendly relations.
The Swiss government stated that it would assess future EU sanctions on a case-by-case basis.
On the other hand, some political parties welcomed Switzerland’s decision to avoid actions that could provoke China.
In recent years, Swiss-Chinese discussions on human rights had been suspended due to Beijing’s response to Swiss criticism of Uighur “re-education” camps. Switzerland updated its foreign policy towards China in 2021 to address growing concerns about China’s human rights record, and the government is currently evaluating the effectiveness of this policy in 2023.
By FCCT Editorial Team