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State Secretary Hirayama to lead Swiss science mission to China
A Swiss government mission beginning 21 September will cover research, higher education, innovation and vocational skills in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. Here is what is confirmed - and what still requires evidence after the visit.
At a glance
- The Swiss government announced the planned 21-28 September mission on 17 September.
- The programme includes ministerial meetings and visits to research, higher-education and technology institutions in four Chinese cities.
- The announcement states an intention to explore cooperation. It does not establish agreements or mission outcomes in advance.
What Switzerland announced
Switzerland's State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation says Martina Hirayama will lead a high-level Swiss science delegation to China from 21 to 28 September. The announced itinerary includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai, with meetings at ministerial level and visits to research institutions, universities and companies.
The Swiss release names China's Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Education among the intended counterparts. It describes the purpose as consolidating existing cooperation and exploring shared interest in new areas. The visit is intended to explore future cooperation; any agreement or concrete outcome will need to be confirmed after the meetings.
A relationship with an institutional base
The announcement places the mission within a science relationship dating to a 1989 bilateral agreement. It says the Swiss National Science Foundation supported more than 460 Swiss projects involving Chinese researchers between 2018 and 2025, making China Switzerland's second most important partner country in Asia by that measure.
That figure describes projects involving Chinese researchers across the stated period. It does not reveal the size, subject or outcome of each collaboration. It is useful evidence of scale, but not a substitute for the concrete programme and results of the forthcoming visit.
Why this matters to readers
For universities and public research institutions, the mission provides a high-level channel for identifying possible future institutional links. Technology and innovation-led companies can watch for named cooperation areas or business-research partnerships, while vocational education providers can follow the WorldSkills programme for skills and training connections. The practical value for any sector will depend on concrete announcements after the mission, not the itinerary alone.
Why WorldSkills is part of the trip
The second part of the visit is tied to WorldSkills Shanghai. Official competition information places the event from 22 to 27 September. Switzerland is sending 42 competitors in 38 skills, and Hirayama is scheduled to attend the closing awards ceremony.
This gives the trip two connected but distinct strands: formal education, research and innovation contacts, and international vocational-skills competition. The competition should not be presented as evidence of a new research agreement, just as the planned policy meetings should not be treated as competition results.
What to watch next
The most useful follow-up will be a dated official account after the mission. Readers should look for the institutions actually visited, any agreement or programme that is named, and whether a concrete next step, funding route or joint call is announced.
Researchers and institutions can watch SERI and the Swiss National Science Foundation for named agreements, joint calls or mobility measures. Vocational-education readers can follow SwissSkills and WorldSkills Shanghai for competition results. The mission announcement itself does not establish a new funding call or application route.
Which documented follow-up would matter most to your institution: a joint research call, researcher mobility, a named institutional partnership or vocational-training cooperation?
Until then, this is a pre-mission report. It records who plans to travel, where the delegation is expected to go and what the Swiss government says it intends to discuss. Outcomes require fresh evidence after the meetings take place.
Editorial note
This article is based on an official Swiss announcement published on 17 September 2026. Future meetings and intended discussions are described in future tense. No mission outcome is inferred. Sources were checked on 17 September 2026. Our editorial standards