After his graduation in 1955, he took a two-year trip to India, where he worked as a representative of the Swiss watch company Favre-Leuba. On his return to Switzerland in 1958 he became a lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (IUHEI) in Geneva. He became a professor at the same establishment in 1964, after the publication of his book "The Chinese Way". He stayed at IUHEI until the end of his career in 1994. From 1979 to 2002 he was the president of the Swiss Association for development aid, "Frères de nos frères".