China, Thailand sign agreement on high-speed rail line, set to open in 2026 | Global Times

“Thai transportation authorities and Chinese construction corporations signed a construction agreement for the first phase of the Thailand-China High Speed Rail on Monday, a new step forward for the long-awaited rail project that could link the two Asian countries.

The first 251-kilometer leg connecting the Thai capital, Bangkok, and Nakhon Ratchasima, better known as Korat, in northeastern Thailand, is expected to be completed and open to traffic in 2026, China’s national broadcaster CCTV said on Monday.”

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Iran, China sign deal on ‘Belt and Road’ project | Anadolu Agency

“Iran and China signed a much-anticipated 25-year strategic cooperation agreement on Saturday, as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative.
The document was signed by Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart Wang Li in a ceremony in Tehran attended by top officials of the two countries. Wang arrived in the Iranian capital Friday on a two-day visit as part of his regional tour, which comes at a time of heightened tensions between China and the US.
The cooperation agreement aims to bolster economic cooperation between Tehran and Beijing and paves the way for Iran’s participation in the “Belt and Road” Initiative, a massive infrastructure project stretching from East Asia to Europe, with a focus on the private sector.

The $400 billion deal had been on anvil since January 2016 when Chinese President Xi Jinping became the first world leader to visit Iran following the signing of the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers.”

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Will the Federal Council follow suit with the sanctions against China? | Tages-Anzeiger

“The relationship between Switzerland and China threatens to escalate further. It was only last Friday that the Federal Council tightened its rhetoric against the Chinese government’s blatant human rights violations. Now, five days later, he is already faced with the question of whether he will follow up the critical tones with deeds. Specifically: whether he will take sanctions against Switzerland’s third largest trading partner.

The Federal Council is confronted with this delicate decision by the European Union. On Monday, for the first time since the Tiananmen massacre 30 years ago, it issued punitive measures against China. Even if these sanctions are initially more of a symbolic nature, Brussels is sending an important signal against the Chinese government. Now Switzerland has to decide whether and how to go along with it.”

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We’re part of China’s BRI but India our ‘most important partner’: Bangladesh foreign advisor | ThePrint

“Bangladesh has said it is “not going to choose” between India and China as it expressed desire to join the “Indo-Pacific relationship”, though it is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“We are part of China’s BRI but we are very willing to be a part of the Indo-Pacific relationship… we are not going to choose [between India and China],” Gowher Rizvi, international affairs advisor to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said during a virtual seminar hosted by London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies Tuesday.”

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Swiss China strategy causes outrage in Beijing: Why the great power is now switching to attack | Aargauer Zeitung

““Malicious labels”, “unfounded allegations”, “fake news”: the Chinese ambassador to Switzerland criticizes the Federal Council’s China strategy. How are his words to be classified?
So it was generally expected: that the Chinese would not just let this sit on them. But the circumstances in which they spoke up turned out to be unusual. The Chinese ambassador to Switzerland, Wang Shihting, spoke aggressively and on all channels about Switzerland’s new China strategy.”

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Thailand’s land bridge rail-and-port project “to be unveiled in June” | Global Construction Review

“The Thai government will reveal the location of its planned “land bridge” between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea in June, the country’s transport minister Saksayam Chidchob has said.

The plan is to build two deepwater ports on either side of one of Thailand’s narrowest regions, linked by a 100km railway and motorway, so that cargo ships sailing between the west Pacific and the Middle East can use the land bridge as a relay, allowing them to avoid the Malacca Strait at Singapore, the world’s most congested sea corridor.

The land bridge concept has replaced the long-mulled idea of building a costly canal.”

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China Strategy 2021-2024 – A balanced, coherent and coordinated approach to China | Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

“China has developed rapidly in recent decades. Relations between Switzerland and China are becoming closer all the time, but this also means that differing values are coming to light more frequently and more clearly than before. The number of actors in Switzerland who maintain contact with China is also rising. In light of this, the Federal Council adopted a new strategy for China at its meeting on 19 March. The strategy was drafted in a process that involved all government departments.”

Read the full statement @ FDFA:

Brochure – China Strategy 2021-2024 (FDFA)

Switzerland’s China strategy put to the test | Handelszeitung

Swiss companies are disadvantaged and spied on in China. The Federal Council should finally demand equal rights, it is said from the economy.

Nobody wants to confirm it. But the case is exemplary of obstacles in China. Two Swiss baby food manufacturers have been waiting for a sales license for almost two years. These are Nestlé and Hochdorf. Nobody knows where it’s stuck. It can’t be because of the quality. “We have successfully passed Chinese audits here on site,” says a Hochdorf spokesman.

Wait, wait, and wait again.”

Switzerland and China to deepen finance fies | Finews

“Despite the increasing discord between China and the U.S., Switzerland wants to further deepen its cooperation in financial matters with the Far East nation.

Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer exchanged views with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at a virtual ministerial meeting (yesterday) Wednesday, according to a statement from the Federal Department of Finance (FDF). The two politicians each had a high-ranking delegation at their side.

Maurer and Liu He thus developed perspectives on deepening bilateral relations in the areas of stock market trading, sustainable financial services, asset management, and digital central bank money. The central banks of both countries are known to be working on projects for digital central bank money, although the respective approach differs greatly in terms of the user base.”

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