Vanunger said that due to the high tariffs, most of the gold exports are routed through Hong Kong with the help of agents. "Middlemen will need to make some money for themselves, and this drives up prices for Chinese customers. If the FTA eventually gets rid of these tariffs, we will be able to export to China directly and avoid the middlemen," he said.

Switzerland is the second European state and the third member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development to complete an FTA with China. This follows the FTAs signed by China with New Zealand in 2007 and with Iceland in 2013.

The China-Switzerland FTA also includes other bilateral agreements, including cooperation in tackling environmental issues, labor and employment matters and intellectual property protection.

China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization Yu Jianhua said the FTA between China and Switzerland has great significance as it shows commitment and confidence from both governments to deepen cooperation.

Swiss Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann said the FTA complements multilateral agreements within the framework of the WTO rather than compete against it.

Xu Jinghu, China's ambassador to Switzerland, said the FTA had an early impact on bilateral trade, after many businesses started reworking their strategies.

Bilateral trade between China and Switzerland stood at $59.5 billion in 2013, more than double the 2012 figure of $26.3 billion.

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