At the invitation of President of the Confederation Ueli Maurer, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang paid an official visit to Bern on 24 May 2013. The head of the Chinese government was received by the President of the Confederation, the vice-president of the Federal Council and head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Didier Burkhalter and head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research Johann Schneider-Ammann. The conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement was at the heart of the talks, which also addressed various bilateral and international issues.

On 1 September 2013, State Secretary Michael Ambühl will take on a professorship for negotiation and conflict management at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, and will leave the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF), which he heads, at the end of August 2013. The Head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) has already informed the Federal Council and expressed her thanks to the State Secretary for the services rendered.

In its Dispatch on the Coordinated Energy Research in Switzerland Action Plan, the Federal Council announced measures to promote energy research as part of the federal Energy Strategy 2050. One of these measures involves the creation of research networks between higher education institutions, the Swiss Competence Centres for Energy Research (SCCERs), which will pursue research in seven action areas. The call for bids for these centres is being launched today.