The Chinese ambassador to Switzerland and the chief executive of the Montreux Jazz Festival both stressed the need for more exchange between China and Switzerland as the iconic music event came to a close on Saturday.

A record number of 250,000 festival-goers enjoyed the 56th edition of the prestigious summer event which took place on July 1-16 after two years of the pandemic. In total, more than 500 concerts were held during the festival and the attendance rate reached almost 85 percent, according to the organizers.

"China's long history and splendid civilization are deeply loved by the Swiss people, and Switzerland is also attracting more and more Chinese people to visit with its unique cultural charm," said Wang Shihting, China's ambassador to Switzerland.

"I hope that the people of the two countries will continue to use music as a bond, and bring up more friendship messengers who know each other," Wang stressed.

Switzerland was one of the first West European countries to recognize the People's Republic of China. The two sides establish diplomatic relations in 1950. Wang said that in recent years, the development of China-Switzerland relations has maintained momentum, with frequent high-level exchanges and interactions between the two countries, and positive progress has been made in cooperation in various fields.

"The Chinese side is willing to work with the Swiss side to continue to promote steady and long-term relations, tap the potential for cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, and culture, so as to help bilateral innovative strategic partnership reach a new level," Wang said.

Last year, the first Montreux Jazz Festival China took place on the banks of the West Lake in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, from Oct. 5 to 8. under the theme "Where East Meets West".

"This also shows China's active and open attitude, which will help to further promote mutual understanding and exchanges between China and foreign countries," Wang said.

"Having a sister festival in China is a way to know better the Chinese culture and music. I'm sure that in the future Chinese musicians will travel more around the world and be stars and get recognized," said Mathieu Jaton, CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival.

"If Montreux can be part of the beginning of their careers or be with these artists when they fly to Europe and start to have shows in Europe. That's the reason why we've been very, very happy to have a festival in China," said Jaton.

Jaton said the festival's legacy is to support young and emerging artists and provide them with a bigger stage to perform.

Attending the festival as a performer, 21-year-old British pop singer Mimi Webb said it's her dream to perform in China one day.

"I would absolutely love to perform in China. It would be incredible just to be there, I've never been before so to soak up the atmosphere and learn all about China would be so incredible. I'm very excited for that day to come, " said Webb.