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GENEVA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland, well-known as "a country of brands" in Europe, have much to share with China, which is dedicated to upgrading its manufacturing industry to intelligent manufacturing in China (imChina).
The two countries enjoy a long-running and steadily growing cooperation, and they forged a unique innovative strategic partnership in 2016.
During growing innovative cooperation between them, the synergy of "Swiss mades" and "imChina" will bring fresh vigor to the traditional manufacturing.
Swiss enterprises have a reputation for constantly striving for perfection and innovation. Therefore, products made in Switzerland, ranging from chocolate and cheese to watches and army knives, have become symbols of high quality.
Switzerland ranked the first for six consecutive years in the Global Innovation Index 2016, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The key to innovation lies in qualified people. Switzerland's unique mechanism for training qualified people has produced generations of skillful craftsmen.
In the 1990s, the Swiss government conducted reforms on higher education, merging more than 60 vocational technical institutes nationwide into seven universities of applied sciences according to the regions where they were located.
These universities, including the prestigious Lausanne Hotel School, have introduced career-oriented institutes and majors which are closely linked with local economic and social development and stress applied research and development.
Nowadays, universities of this new type, with a status of growing importance in Switzerland's higher education system, have provided a lot of skilled talents in high-end technology for industrial development and become an important force in the Swiss system of state innovation.
Innovation and persistence give Swiss products high added value and strong competitiveness, as well as business opportunities and glory to Switzerland.
Currently, as a new round of scientific and industrial revolution surges around the world, the global manufacturing structure is undergoing profound changes. How to rejuvenate the traditional manufacturing sector and establish the core competitiveness of the high-end manufacturing business are challenges facing all countries.
The manufacturing industry is the foundation of a country, a means for a country's prosperity and a base to make a country strong.
The upgrading of "China mades" to "quality manufacturing" and "intelligent manufacturing" calls for a significant progress in such areas as craftsmanship and brand building, while carrying forward the spirit of craftsmanship and innovation is a necessity.
The "spirit of craftsmanship" and "innovation power" shown in Switzerland's development process highly fit China's development notions and needs.
The manufacturing industry is the main battlefield for innovation, while innovation brings such innovative surging power as new concepts, new designs and new technologies to the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
Innovation leads the five development notions proposed in China's 13th Five-Year Plan, while China entered the list of the world's top 25 innovative economies in the Global Innovation Index for the first time.
China's determination to explore new power for economic development via reform and innovation has deeply impressed Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Swiss ambassador to China, who believed that Switzerland, the world's most innovative country, has a broad prospect of cooperation with China.
In as early as 1989, China and Switzerland signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation. In 2007, Switzerland was among the first European countries that recognized China's full market economy status. In 2013, it became the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with China.
In 2016, China and Switzerland established an innovative strategic partnership, the first such partnership China established with a foreign country.
The move to further enrich and deepen China-Switzerland ties with innovation came naturally. De Dardel said the unique innovative strategic partnership between the two countries will strengthen the docking of Switzerland's "Industry 4.0" with "Made in China 2025" to achieve a better win-win scenario.
