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Top Swiss diplomat into China groove
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Taking two Chinese language lessons each week has become routine for Alexander Hoffet since he started work last year as consul general of Switzerland in Shanghai.
“Chinese is so different from other languages; the homework is always a headache,” says Hoffet. “Luckily, it is not so urgent for me to really speak Chinese at work since I am surrounded by many Chinese speaking excellent English.”
However, although he does not see any realistic hope of mastering Chinese, Hoffet still considers the lessons essential. He firmly believes studying the language of every country where he works will help him to better understand the people’s mentality and how the country’s system works.
Hoffet has worked around the world since starting his international career in 1987 as a delegate of the International Red Cross in Iraq and Southern Africa, then as a diplomat in Prague, Seoul, Brussels and Vienna. He has found Shanghai to be very different from his last assignment in Vienna, a city that is proud of its history and culture and focuses on keeping up tradition.
“Shanghai is an extremely dynamic and vibrant city with an eventful past, a place where Eastern and Western cultures were entangled,” says Hoffet. “This is also what makes Shanghai such a lively cosmopolitan city with a unique, forward-looking spirit and can-do mentality.”
The vibrant atmosphere and future-oriented, confident focus of people in Shanghai and the entire Yangtze River Delta region remind Hoffet of the optimistic mood in South Korea during his posting in the late 1990s. Accustomed to adjusting his work priorities and practices to the requirements of each new posting, Hoffet found no difficulty in quickly shifting his attention from regional security issues in Europe to the bilateral relationship between Switzerland and China, Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region in particular.
Hoffet’s constituency as consul general includes around 400 Swiss companies based in Shanghai and the surrounding provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, an ever-increasing number of exchange and cooperation projects between Swiss and Chinese schools and academic institutions, and numerous cultural exchange events.
He says his biggest challenge in the job is not only keeping track of all activities, but also living up to high expectations with limited resources. And the task is especially heavy this year which marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Switzerland. A series of cultural exchange activities has helped to celebrate the anniversary. Switzerland recognized the People’s Republic of China in the early 1950s, becoming one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with the newly founded country.
“This was the beginning of a special relationship based on trust that continues to benefit bilateral relations today,” says Hoffet.
The Swiss people have constantly been among the forerunners in establishing “firsts” in the relationship with China, according to Hoffet. The first sister city relationship was established between Kunming and Zurich, and the first joint venture between a Chinese company and a Western company was initiated by the Swiss company Schindler, both in the 1980s. It was Switzerland that first recognized China as a modern market economy in the WTO. In 2014, Switzerland was the first major Western country and major economy to sign a free trade agreement with China. Switzerland is also among the founding member states of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank created on China’s initiative.
“Our relationship started early on and they have developed a lot of substance, both in terms of the quantity of the economic exchange and of the quality of interpersonal contacts,” says Hoffet, “and Shanghai has always played a vital role in the Swiss presence in China.”
The first Swiss representation in China opened in Shanghai in 1921 and almost 100 years later Shanghai is still one of the most important focuses of Swiss presence in China, both with regard to the number of companies and of Swiss citizens living in the area. The trend is still on the rise and Hoffet believes more joint programs based on Shanghai’s and Switzerland’s common interests will lead to even closer ties.
The “Sino-Swiss Low Carbon Cities” project was recently launched to mitigate the phenomena of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Chinese urban areas. Ten Chinese cities, including Shanghai, are involved. And Switzerland is also willing to share its green transformation experience with Shanghai, as well as further deepen partnerships with China in education, research and innovation.
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