BEIJING, Dec. 23 -- China and Switzerland have achieved mutual recognition of the equivalence of auditing standards and audit oversight system, the Chinese finance ministry said Friday.

The Swiss auditing standards and the International Standard on Auditing recognized by Switzerland are equivalent to the Chinese auditing standards, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.

For accounting firms that are registered in the Swiss Confederation and the People's Republic of China respectively and issuing audit reports on financial statements of economic entities, the audit oversight systems of the two countries are equivalent, the statement said.

The ministry called the decision an important foundation for establishing a mutually beneficial and long-term audit oversight cooperation mechanism between the two countries.

It added that the move is expected to help deepen Sino-Swiss economic and trade exchanges and financial cooperation, promote the connectivity of capital markets and broaden investment financing channels for enterprises.