IT has been two years since Alexander Hoffet was appointed consul general of Switzerland in Shanghai, but he still feels amazed at the city’s speed of construction and social development.

He cited one recent experience to illustrate the rapid changes in this mega city in an interview with Shanghai Daily.

A quiet side street near his residence was lined with residential townhouses and commercial properties. Recently, it had one side demolished within a few days and a wall was erected for a possible redevelopment project. “In my country, it would take years, perhaps never be possible, to rehouse so many landlords at once,” Hoffet said, citing it as an example of the “China speed.”

“This hands-on, can-do attitude helps to explain the spectacular progress of the Chinese economy in the past 35 years,” he said.

Earlier this month, Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Mauro Dell’Ambrogio visited Beijing and sat down with Huai Jinpeng, Chinese vice minister of industry and information technology. They agreed to explore collaboration based on the Sino-Swiss Innovative Strategic Partnership established in April.

The partnership provides a framework for further deepening and energizing the existing cooperation between the two countries in various fields of innovation.

“It aims to combine China’s innovation-driven development strategy with Switzerland’s innovation advantage to expand and consolidate our free trade and financial cooperation, to support the establishment of innovation cooperation platforms, and to encourage innovative cooperation between enterprises, universities and research institutes in both countries,” Hoffet added.

In April 2016 during the state visit of Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann to China, Tsinghua University Science Park signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with Switzerland Innovation Park, the coordinating body of the five existing Swiss science parks. Meanwhile, a number of Swiss companies set up their research and development facilities in China and more collaborative activities in the fields of e-commerce, digital payment and big data businesses are currently examined, Hoffet remarked.

Of all cooperative projects undertaken by both sides, those in ecological research, environmental science and materials engineering receive priority support from the national science foundations in both countries, he said. The Sino-Swiss low-carbon program has expanded to several Chinese cities, including Jinshan District in Shanghai.

“The ecological environment in Jinshan, Shanghai’s only district with a coastline, is well preserved,” Hoffet noted when talking about his recent visit to Jinshan which is piloting the low-carbon program in local industrial parks in an attempt to make them green and cut down carbon dioxide emissions.

“This shall be ensured through improving environmental standards and operational measures and through supervising the development and management of bio-pharmaceutical and precision manufacturing clusters based on Swiss expertise and practices,” the consul general said.

The strategic partnership is also expected to boost trade and investment between the two countries, Hoffet said. Benefiting from their free trade agreement enforced in 2014, China has become Switzerland’s third largest trading partner in the world and top one in Asia. Last year, Swiss exports to the Chinese mainland totaled CHF31.7 billion (US$31.9 billion), 9 percent more than in 2014.

“This was against the backdrop of a slowing global economy,” Hoffet stressed. “Swiss companies in China see the country as an increasingly important investment destination.”

A 2016 survey published by the China-Europe International Business School and the Swiss Center Shanghai shows that 57 percent of the companies surveyed plan to increase their investment in China and over 40 percent expect their profits to grow.

Of the 800-plus Swiss companies in China, about a half operates in the Yangtze River Delta region. They are active in areas of machine building, food processing, textiles, logistics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. Majority of them are small to medium-sized enterprises and leaders in niche markets because of their endeavor for innovation, precision and craftsmanship, said Hoffet.

Compared with other European companies, Swiss enterprises are doing better in tapping the China market. “We always need the international market to grow because our domestic market with only 8 million customers is not big enough,” he added.

The Chinese and the Swiss people share a lot in common such as a disposition to work hard and a pragmatic attitude. However, their approaches to life and work do differ in some aspects.

“Swiss businesspeople tend to think long-term, plan well in advance and execute their projects precisely as planned. They pay much attention to details, quality and craftsmanship and they invest a lot in R&D,” he said. “The Chinese on the other hand are very flexible when it comes to planning. They tend to adapt fast to changing situations and are very quick in making decisions.”

But he suggested these differences can bring mutual enrichment. “If we pour water into wine, we will have a poor wine. If we blend in different grapes, we may create a great new wine.”

November will see an active Swiss presence in Shanghai, the consul general said. The upcoming West Bund Art and Design Fair will showcase avant-garde art projects by students from the University of Art and Design Lausanne and have a panel discussion by museum directors from Switzerland.

ShanghART Gallery owned by a Swiss art dealer, Lorenz Helbling, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in November with an exhibition called “Holzwege,” meaning wood paths in English.

Also, Swiss books will be displayed at the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair in November. Next year, the 5th Swiss Week will be held in Shanghai in May to promote the culture, education, trade and financial services of Switzerland. The sistership cities of Basel and Shanghai will celebrate their 10th anniversary.