BERN, Switzerland — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Oct 22 that China and Switzerland should keep pace with the times and deepen their innovative strategic partnership.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis, Wang said there are several experiences worth sharing given that next year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

To deepen their innovative strategic partnership, the two countries should strengthen financial cooperation, said Wang, adding that Switzerland is a financial power and China is also speeding up the opening up of its financial sector, including banking, securities and insurance.

The first foreign-owned joint venture securities company approved by China was a Swiss financial enterprise, and the two countries have broad opportunities for cooperation in the financial field.

China is the largest manufacturing country in the world, and Switzerland has advantages in advanced manufacturing, said Wang, adding that the two countries can work together.

Switzerland has unique technologies, and China has a good scientific and technological foundation and a huge market space, according to Wang. Swiss technology would benefit from the massive Chinese market.

He added that China will strictly protect intellectual property rights and carry out technical cooperation in accordance with market rules.

Wang noted that in order to realize the prospects for these three aspects of cooperation, an important prerequisite is to continuously consolidate the foundation of mutual trust between the two sides.

"This is based on mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual support for each other's core interests," he said.

Wang said bilateral relations should be based on three principles.

First, it is important that countries treat each other equally, which is a strong Chinese diplomatic principle. Countries, big or small, are equal members of the international community.

Second is mutual respect, he said. Although the two countries have different historical, cultural and social systems, both countries respect the development path chosen by each other and should respect each other's differences.

The third one is win-win cooperation. According to the minister, the two countries can complement each other's advantages to bolster growth.

"China and Switzerland have become a model of win-win cooperation between different social systems, different stages of development, and countries of different sizes," he said. "These valuable experience are worth continuing to inherit."