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Switzerland

Squeezing More Swiss Into “Swiss Made” Watches

In an effort to reinforce the ‘Swiss made” label, watch makers have decided to add more locally-manufactured parts to their time pieces.

Squeezing More Swiss Into “Swiss Made” Watches

Worldcrunch NEWS BITES

How Swiss should a Swiss watch actually be? After more than a quarter century of intense pondering and negotiation, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) decided in 2007 that, in order for a watch to deserve its "Swiss Made" label, 80% of its mechanical parts had to be Swiss, up from 50% at present.

Four years later, Swiss watch makers have yet to put the 80% target in practice. It now seems they may not have to, as the FH says it is ready to settle instead for a modest 60%. The figure emerged after "numerous discussions with European partners and federal authorities," said Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the FH, in an interview this week with Switzerland's Le Temps. "Various agreements between Switzerland and Europe imposed this percentage," he added.

Some observers suspect the climb-down is due to fears about hidden protectionist measures among European, especially French competitors. Not all Swiss watch makers, however, are happy about the new agreement.

"The new amendment makes the project a lot less credible," says Olivier Muller, a consultant in the sector. "The 80% requirement was the main pillar of the reform, and 60% is not that different from 50%."

Swiss watchmakers of low and mid-priced products, on the other hand, lobbied to keep the original 50% parts quota in place, arguing that reforming the rules might trigger significant job losses. Jean-Daniel Pasche believes the reinforced "Swiss Made" label will have the opposite effect, that of strengthening the country's industrial base.

Read the full article by Bastien Buss in French.

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Geopolitics

Yes, Xi Jinping Is Now More Powerful Than Mao Zedong Ever Was

After being re-elected as head of the Communist Party last year, the Chinese leader has been unanimously re-elected to another five-year term as head of state. Now, wielding more power than any other past Chinese communist leader, he wants to accelerate the rise of Chinese influence around the world.

Photo of huge portrait of Xi Jinping

Huge portrait of Xi Jinping is displayed in the National Day mass pageantry celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China

Yann Rousseau

-Analysis-

BEIJING — Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has been re-elected to a third five-year term at the head of the world's second largest economic power. Nobody was surprised.

The vote took place during a legislative assembly convened to rubber stamp decisions of the authoritarian power, during which 2,952 parliamentarians unanimously approved Xi's re-election before rising, in perfect choreography, to offer a prolonged standing ovation to their leader. As usual, Xi remained completely neutral in the face of the enthusiasm.

His victory was a mere formality after his re-election last fall as the head of the all-powerful party, which controls all of the country's political institutions, and after legislative amendments to erase term limits that would have forced him out.

Xi Jinping, who took over the presidency in 2013, "is now the most powerful leader in the history of the People's Republic, since its founding in 1949. Institutionally, he holds even more power than Mao Zedong," says Suisheng Zhao, a professor and Chinese foreign policy expert at the University of Denver.

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