Jürg Burri, ambassador of Switzerland to China Photo: Dong Feng/GT

Defining his legacy in China over the past three years, Jürg Burri, Ambassador of Switzerland to China, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that through increasing curiosity about one culture in another, and hosting vibrant events helps contribute to a common understanding. 

2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland. The Embassy of Switzerland in China has hosted and organized a wide range of activities to commemorate this milestone. Ambassador Burri affirmed the impact of these events and initiatives in fostering closer ties between the two peoples and enhancing mutual understanding.

From the ambassador's observation, both the Embassy of Switzerland in China and the Embassy of China in Switzerland have been very active in commemorating this jubilance of 75 years.

"We had more than 30 events in more than 10 cities [in China] and all these events were also part of a big social media project, and last but not least, we also had TV productions covering the events and the relations between Switzerland and China," he introduced. 

Talking about the positive outcome of these vibrant events, the ambassador said, "I think in China the impact is considerable. Many people have attended or heard about our events, and if I talk about the events individually, we really tried to touch all the senses: the culinary - in having gastronomy festival; the auditory - in having traditional Chinese music and classical Swiss music playing together; and the visual - in having a number of design and art exhibits. So it was a very rich year and I hope many Chinese people have benefited from it," said Ambassador Burri.

Before hosting a concert in mid-September, the Ambassador told the Global Times that his favorite Chinese musical instrument is the Olympic Fou.

Olympic Fou is the electrifying instrument from the Beijing 2008 Olympics opening ceremony - a massive array of illuminated drums that merged ancient Chinese symbolism with cutting-edge spectacle to welcome the world. 

He also explained the reason: "Because I attended the Beijing 2008 Olympic opening ceremony and it was one of the finest moments in my life."

In his tenure as a diplomat, Burri has been working in China for six years. His role then was the Deputy Head of the Embassy of Switzerland in China and in September 2022 he returned to the embassy as the new ambassador.

What's more, the Chinese and Swiss cultures each possess unique characteristics. When the Embassy of Switzerland in China promotes cultural exchanges, there might be some challenges to strike a balance between preserving cultural distinctiveness and fostering shared resonance to build genuine emotional connections between people from different cultural backgrounds. 

To tackle the challenges, the ambassador elaborated that the Swiss identity and culture, and the Chinese identity and culture are very strong. 

Meanwhile, in recent years, both countries have made significant strides in youth exchanges, art exhibitions, and film and television collaborations. 

Talking about the tangible changes that have been publicly brought about by these cultural initiatives and are the foundation of China-Switzerland relations, the ambassador said that he finds there could be even more to be done in this aspect. 

"I welcome every Chinese tourist to go to Switzerland, and I welcome every Swiss [tourist] to come to China. Mostly for young people. I think it's an amazing experience to discover the other country and we do everything to promote tourism here for Chinese people to go to Switzerland," he said. 

In terms of outreach, the ambassador has seen great potential in social media. 

"One game changer has been in the game or on the plan, is really social media," he noted.

China has a very lively social media landscape, and so does Switzerland.

Given the many films that have been shared and spread across social media platforms across the world, what is even more interesting is the younger generation is learning through different approaches.

"I believe that young people are discovering China in Switzerland, through social media and the other way around," Ambassador Burri said. 

Looking ahead from today's milestone, the ambassador shared his outlook for the next 75 years of bilateral relations. From his point of view, the new directions that China and Switzerland are exploring in cultural cooperation and exchanges have everything to do with technology advancement, peace and stability. 

The ambassador back traced the history to when the two countries started bilaterally through telegrams. 

"When you look back at the 1950s, when we tied our diplomatic relations 75years ago, there was only telegrams. There was no fax and e-mail. There was no internet," he said. 

He then shared his general outlook, noting "I would say that I hope that relations between Switzerland and China remain solid. Solid as they are based on very strong economic cooperation, [which means] business to business, that we have a mutual interest in visiting each other, and that means strong exchanges between the two populations, and that we also work together in fields politically." 

That said, the ambassador pointed out his personal expectation. 

"My personal hope is that Switzerland and China can make contribution to resolve the many conflicts that we have in the world. I see a big potential in China as a peace mediator and Switzerland has great experience as a peace mediator. Switzerland is a truly neutral country and I think we have lots of potential in that field," said the ambassador. 

Ambassador Burri has worked in his role for three years, and among the many traditional Chinese festivals that he celebrated in China, Burri said that his favorite remains the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival especially, during the Chinese New Year. 

"I love the atmosphere in the cold winter city with the lanterns and the outdoors activities and then go have jiaozi [dumplings] to warm up. The mixture of light and atmosphere makes the beauty of Beijing and China," he noted.

Looking back, Ambassador Burri, one of the 19 Swiss ambassadors in China, defined his legacy here in China, saying that he hoped that he did well for Switzerland-China relations. 

"I was privileged to be here during a very special time due to the COVID-19 in 2022. I personally had the ambition to be approachable and encourage people who want to work for Switzerland-China relations to work with us, to support them, and therefore have maximum effect in supporting Swiss institutions, companies, and individuals who want to reach out to China and who want to contribute to the bilateral relations," he said.