China is courting Swiss start-ups for their intellectual property

China is courting Swiss start-ups with offers that sound too good to be true such as interest-free funding, free office space for years on end, accelerator programmes and a business-friendly regulatory environment. But according to historian Ariane Knüsel, the real objective is not cooperation, but rather technology transfer and dominance in strategic sectors. China’s appeal to Swiss start-ups is certainly nothing new, but it is taking on increasingly sophisticated and dangerous forms. In an…