President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message on Thursday to Guy Parmelin on his assumption of the presidency of the Swiss Confederation, highlighting the high-level development of China-Switzerland relations.

In the message, Xi recalled that during his state visit to Switzerland in 2017, the two countries announced the launch of a joint study on upgrading the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement, and he lauded Parmelin's contribution to the positive progress in negotiations on the upgrade.

At a time when unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, Xi said, the two countries' joint commitment to supporting free trade has injected greater certainty and stability into global development and prosperity.

The year 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership and the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for economic and social development, presenting broad opportunities for innovative cooperation between the two countries, he added.

Stressing that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Switzerland relations, Xi expressed his readiness to work with Parmelin to continuously expand mutually beneficial cooperation, elevate bilateral ties to new heights and deliver greater benefits to the two peoples.

Parmelin, 66, was elected by the Swiss Parliament as president of the Swiss Confederation on Dec 10, securing 203 votes out of the 228 ballots cast. He has served as the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research since 2019. He was vice-president of the Swiss Confederation for 2025, and previously held the rotating presidency in 2021.

Each December, the Swiss Parliament elects the president of the Swiss Confederation from the seven members of the Federal Council for a one-year term. The president, regarded as first among equals, serves as the formal head of Switzerland's seven-member executive branch while continuing regular ministerial responsibilities.

Xinhua contributed to this story.