The confederation swallows up millions for a prestige embassy in Beijing which will not see the light of day – RTS.CH

Apparent concrete. Similarly, large glass facades, this was how the new building of the Swiss Embassy was to present itself in the Chinese capital. However, The plans are available in the smallest detail and only had to build.

The cost so far was estimated at four million francs. However. For example, the Chinese authorities did not grant a building permit, because the project does not respect the safety distances and breaks construction directives.

Apparently. Consequently, the Confederation deliberately played big: we wanted to build in a representative manner and we had speculated on obtaining a building permit “through the stolen door”, according to well -informed sources of SRF Investigativ. Nevertheless, We had not taken into account that this was no longer common today in China.

On this subject. Therefore, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAE) declares: “The first discussions, during which the framework conditions of the project were discussed, date back more than ten years. In a country as dynamic as China, it is understandable that certain standards can evolve quickly.” The construction project is therefore not achievable in this form.

After years of planning. officials have now buried it in secret, as revealed by internal Confederation documents that SRF Investigativ was able to consult thanks to the transparency law. Officially. the basic idea of ​​a new construction remains postponed: “The need and the need to replace the existing buildings of the Swiss representation in Beijing remain”, according to the DFAE.

Confederation swallows up millions prestige

Obsolete technique. confederation swallows up millions prestige lack of workplaces

With this project, the Confederation swallowed up four million francs of taxpayers. These were spent on an architectural competition and planning. To this must be added the working hours of the employees of the Confederation. Regarding the erroneous investment reproach. the DFAE declares: “Total investment is not lost, because sooner or later a new construction project will have to be carried out.”

The DFAE launched the project in 2016. In demand. we can read in what a new solution for the Embassy in Beijing was urgent: “The building technique is obsolete and reached the end of its life cycle.” Systeism security no longer meets the requirements either. In addition, more workplaces are needed: “Due to (…) the continuous increase in personnel needs in one of the most important partner countries for Switzerland in the world. the supply of places reaches (…) its limit.”

In total, 132 workstations would be necessary, one third more than before. In 2023, federal finance control intervened and warned of an explosion in costs. The budget for the new construction had increased from 25 to 48 million francs.

Small measures instead of a new construction

Today, the Confederation no longer wants to hear about the emergency. In March 2025, officials met for a strategic session. It appeared clearly that we did not know how many workstations were really necessary. And now. according to the strategic document, a simple renovation suddenly suffices: with maintenance and occasional measures to reduce the seismic risk, we could extend “the ability confederation swallows up millions prestige to exploit” of the embassy building.

The DFAE specifies on this subject: “These measures will reduce the most urgent defects of buildings. so that they can be used for another ten to fifteen years.” The long -term future of the Embassy in Beijing remains uncertain. What is certain is that the four million francs for planning the prestigious building that will never be built. are lost.

Sonja Mühlemann et Sarah Nowotny (SRF)/Ain