'Shanghai was home for more than five years, during which time I developed a great affection for China. My Hong Kong posting is only a few days old,' he said at the time of the interview.

'Representing Switzerland in Hong Kong will doubtless be most instructive. After all, in many respects it is the town that inspired Shanghai's quest for modernity and development.'

On the biggest difference between Shanghai and Hong Kong, he gestured towards the magnificent 180-degree south-facing panorama of the hills that tower over Wan Chai, and said: 'The scenery.'

Viewed from the 62nd floor of the Central Plaza building, Hong Kong Island's topography appears so precipitous that one wonders if the envoy finds himself reminded of the Swiss Alps.

'I'm not so fond of talking about the Alpine meadows and cows imagery. It's a bit of a cliche. Switzerland represents much more - for instance, the country's remarkable achievements in a variety of hi-tech fields, notably in architectural technology and advanced textile development.'

Until recently, for example, almost all airline seats in the world were made in Switzerland.

'When it comes to textiles and other materials, our fire retardation know-how is second to none,' he said. 'It is one of many textile technologies that the Swiss have pioneered.'

Another recent development by Swiss scientists is the invention of a fabric that is 'unstainable' or 'unsoilable'.

'You can pour oil on it, or honey, or anything - it just slides off. As you can imagine, this has countless applications in the manufacturing sector,' Mr Roth said.

Landlocked Switzerland is a highly industrialised and urbanised society, despite its location. On the map it is wedged into the most mountainous portion of Western Europe.

Historically, it is synonymous with neutrality, and even to this day eschews membership of the European Union (EU).

However, in recent years it brought its economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to enhance its international competitiveness. And largely because of this, the economy is thoroughly integrated with those of all its neighbours.

Switzerland's standards, from welfare provisions and food safety to ecological awareness, either correspond with or exceed EU standards. And from 2011, Mr Roth said EU citizens would be as free to arrive in Switzerland to work as they were in their home countries.

The country is as politically and economically secure as it has ever been in its 715-year history, with unemployment at less than half the EU average.

It has been an above-average year for sports, with native Roger Federer winning Wimbledon again and Switzerland performing surprisingly well in the World Cup. The national team set a World Cup record by not conceding a goal throughout the tournament, except in penalty shootouts. Factor in this year's unusually sunny summer, and Switzerland's 2006 is shaping up to be a distinctly 'feel-good' year.

The nation is a well-known tourist destination, especially for winter sports enthusiasts. And as the mercury rises in spring and the snow melts away, Switzerland's winding hiking trails provide postcard-like vistas for walkers at every turn.

Above all else though, Switzerland is associated by outsiders with luxury timepieces, especially in brand-conscious metropolises such as this one.

Rolex, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and more than a dozen other venerable brands are linked in the minds of discerning Hong Kong consumers. Classy and utterly dependable watches from the small mountainous nation at the heart of Western Europe have a long history here.

'The Swiss watch industry was the one that actually opened up the Far East for Switzerland and initially drove our business relations with the region, and the Pearl River Delta in particular,' Mr Roth said.

'In the 19th and early 20th centuries we had a strong presence in Canton [Guangzhou] under the protection of other western powers.'

Times have changed in East Asia, but not as much as one might believe.

'Our watch industry endures as Switzerland's dynamo for business in Hong Kong, which is where we focus on services and luxury goods. And Shanghai is where we - and China generally - focus on production.

'The nature of Swiss business with Shanghai has changed enormously, but in the case of Hong Kong it is largely business as it has always been.

'Watches and clocks account for 46 per cent of Swiss exports to Hong Kong, and amounts to 1.77 billion Swiss francs (HK$11.04 billion) in value. And our jewellery and precious metal exports come to 27 per cent of the total; about 1 billion francs.'

With similar population sizes, Switzerland and Hong Kong punch far above their weight in international trade terms. And despite the 9,311km distance between the two, official figures reveal that Switzerland was the 17th largest trading partner of Hong Kong last year. And it was Hong Kong's 13th largest supplier and 22nd largest export market.

According to the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, Hong Kong's total exports to Switzerland increased to 1.4 billion Swiss francs last year. And Hong Kong was Switzerland's largest export market in Asia after Japan and the mainland last year.

As of June 1 last year, no less than 38 Swiss companies had based their Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in Hong Kong. Seventy-three Swiss companies have regional offices here and 63 have local offices.

These figures illustrate the robust state of bilateral trade ties. They cover a surprisingly wide range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs as well as the obvious, such as banking and that perennial Swiss business - timepieces.

However, Hong Kong's ties with Switzerland extend beyond business.

'The consulate has been co-operating with the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Museum of Art and other mainland institutions on a remarkable project.'

On Mr Roth's desk is a large book entitled: The Enchanting Art Of Paper-Cutting - Switzerland and Foshan, China.

'Paper-cutting is a venerable and highly developed art form in both our cultures. And the language barrier has been bridged to some extent by the fact that the artisans have their own professional language. There will be an exhibition at the Macau Museum in early September [from September 8],' Mr Roth said.

The use of the word 'enchanting' in the book's title is apposite; the images inside possess a magical quality. The Swiss paper-cuttings are distinctively and unmistakably Swiss and dwell on the rustic iconography of Alpine life, whereas those from China are eminently Chinese in design.

Most striking perhaps for the casual observer are those 1970s cuttings crafted by a few officially approved cultural revolutionaries.

Hailing from such an artistically barren period (and a time Mr Roth recalls from his student days in Beijing), these evocative works are of an astonishingly high standard.

The book also provides a rarely considered insight - when it comes to work requiring extreme precision and attention to infinitesimally small detail, the Swiss and Chinese have a great deal in common.