BERN, Switzerland — Switzerland is willing to work with China to strengthen political mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries, President of the Swiss Confederation Ueli Maurer said on Oct 22 when meeting with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

During the meeting, Maurer asked Wang to convey his cordial greetings and best wishes to President Xi Jinping.

Maurer said that the relations between Switzerland and China have developed smoothly and have always been at the forefront of European Union (EU)-China relations.

Speaking highly of the tremendous achievements China has made in its development, he said that Switzerland fully supports the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and believes that this initiative will serve as a bridge for cooperation between China and Europe, which will help improve the quality of China-EU cooperation and bring significant opportunities to Switzerland and Europe.

The Swiss side hopes to further consolidate political mutual trust with China and strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, finance, environmental protection and innovation, he said.

Saying that Swiss companies have become the beneficiaries of China's opening-up, Maurer told Wang that Switzerland welcomes Chinese companies to invest in the country.

China is a stable and active force for world peace and prosperity, he said, adding that Switzerland is willing to strengthen communication with China on international and regional issues and jointly practice multilateralism and free trade.

Wang for his part conveyed President Xi's cordial greetings to the Swiss president.

He told Maurer that China is willing to work with Switzerland next year when the two countries will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and use the joint construction of the Belt and Road as a new driving force to promote the combination of China's market potential and the advantages of Swiss quality, uphold the spirit of opening-up and win-win cooperation, and further promote bilateral cooperation.

Wang also said that China attaches importance to Switzerland's unique role and influence as a neutral country and as an important host country of United Nations agencies.

China is willing to work with the Swiss side to maintain multilateralism, build an open world economy, and defend the basic norms of international relations, he said.