China and Switzerland have a high-level bilateral free trade agreement, and the two sides have been actively advancing joint research and conducting deep consultations on possible areas in the FTA for upgrade, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

The spokesperson also said the upgrade talks had not stalled and the two sides are keeping close communication, according to an online article on the ministry's website.

"The China-Switzerland FTA is a high-level and mutually beneficial agreement. It has played a positive role in promoting economic and trade cooperation and development between the two countries," the spokesperson said.

The two nations signed the FTA in July 2013, which came into effect a year later. In 2017, they signed a memorandum of understanding and announced the launch of a joint study to explore the possibility of further, comprehensive upgrade of the agreement.

China is Switzerland's third-largest trading partner. In 2021, the bilateral trade value between the two reached $44.11 billion, growing 96.7 percent year-on-year.?