Foreign Minister Wang Yi exchanged views with Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and local officials in the southern Swiss town of Bellinzona on October 10, 2025. Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday welcomed more Swiss friends to become "Walter Bosshard of the new era" and visit China to embrace cooperation, the future, and opportunities. Walter Bosshard is a Swiss journalist who visited and reported China in the 1930s. 

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a reception hosted by Swiss Federal Councillor and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in the southern Swiss town of Bellinzona, where he exchanged views with local officials.

Wang noted that in the 1930s, Swiss journalist Walter Bosshard traveled across mountains and rivers to China, becoming the first European journalist to visit Yan'an and interview Chairman Mao Zedong. At the time, there were many false reports about Communist Party of China (CPC). Bosshard, drawing on his personal experiences in Yan'an, pointed out that China's hope lies in Yan'an, because the CPC combines discipline with ideals. 

Wang stated that China is a country with a long history and is constantly developing and changing. If any country in the world has experienced the greatest change and fastest growth, it must be China. 

He said that China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty, created a middle-income group of nearly 500 million, and 1.4 billion Chinese people are collectively moving toward modernization, presenting enormous opportunities for cooperation. "We welcome more Swiss friends to become 'Walter Bosshard of the new era' and visit China to embrace cooperation, the future, and opportunities," Wang emphasized.