Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on Sunday to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Xi is the first Chinese President to attend the mega-summit and will be one of the highlights at the event. All eyes will be on Xi's address at a time when US President-elect Donald Trump has talked about protectionism.
Prior to the Davos meeting, Xi is scheduled to have talks and meetings with Swiss leaders in Bern, as the two countries seek to cement their innovative strategic partnership that was established last April.
China and Switzerland have enjoyed long-term exchange and cooperation. In 1950, Switzerland was one of the first Western countries to recognise and establish diplomatic ties with the newly-founded People's Republic of China.
Switzerland was also among the first European countries to recognize China as a full market economy.
In recent years, Switzerland became the first European continental country to conclude and implement a free trade agreement with China.
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Xi will later travel to the ski resort of Davos to attend the WEF annual meeting being held from January 17-20.
He will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony on January 17 to share China's views on charting the course for globalisation.
--IANS
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