Switzerland has concluded a free-trade agreement with China and, as such, it lends itself well to study the politics of preferential trade liberalization with China. We argue that the losers of trade in advanced democracies more strongly oppose North-South preferential trade agreements (PTAs), such as PTAs with China, than North-North PTAs. We also explore whether belief in compensatory welfare policies mitigates the uneven effects of preferential liberalization, arguing that such beliefs more strongly increase support for North-South than North-North PTAs among losers. We further argue that compared to passive/protective labor market policies, social activation policies less significantly increase support for North-South PTAs among losers. Lastly, we expect preferential liberalization involving countries with different levels of social standards (North-South PTAs) to drive a wedge between left- and right-leaning voters, more so than preferential liberalization involving trading partners with similar standards (North-North). Using representative survey data, including original survey questions probing opinions on the Sino-Swiss PTA of 2013 and the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU, we find support for our expectations. Our analysis has implications for the backlash against globalization under Chinese influence.