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New Thai Govt Seeks Stronger Ties with China: Interview
Thailand.html target=_blank>Thailand's new government strongly regards China as one of its most important allies, and attaches great importance to the Thai-Chinese relations, Surakiat Sathirathai, Thailand's newly-appointed foreign minister, told Xinhua during an exclusive interview in Bangkok Tuesday, prior to his visit to China.
"We look forward to more creative cooperation between the two countries in wider areas," said Surakiat, explaining why he chose China as the first country to visit outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after he assumed office.
In his first foreign trip as the foreign minister, Surakiat will visit Vietnam and Malaysia, which are two fellow ASEAN members, and China during the first half of March.
"Long before the new government is formed, in last year, I had said that if I become the foreign minister, I will put it as a priority to visit fellow ASEAN countries and China," recalled Surakiat, also the deputy leader of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party.
"Now I live up to my pledges and believe I can do better, because I have visited all the other ASEAN countries and China when I was not in the cabinet," he said.
Thai Rak Thai(or Thais Love Thais) Party won a landslide victory in the January 6 national election and formed the new cabinet on February 17.
The new administration has declared that it will conduct the diplomacy in an "Asian way" of face-saving and non-confrontation, in order to restore and strengthen its relations with neighboring countries and other Asian countries.
"China is the first country I plan to visit outside ASEAN, because I consider itself will convey an important message that we greatly emphasize the ties with China," Surakiat said.
Responding to the question of what is on the top agenda of his upcoming visit to China, the foreign minister, recently known for his strong advocation for pan-Asian cooperation, said, "first of all, I would like to address the great importance that all Asian countries need to get together more closely."
"Since China has a policy to emphasize all-Asia cooperation, I will touch further the idea which I would like to call as the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, that is, the attempt to further link countries in the South Asia Sub-continent, ASEAN and East Asian countries," he stated.
"We already have a cooperation framework between ASEAN and South Asia countries, but we still intend to have a framework in which countries in ASEAN, South Asia and East Asia can be together, talking about areas of multilateral cooperation," he said.
However, he stressed that he is not looking for some tight organization in the beginning, but just a venue where all Asian countries can get together.
"Countries participating in the dialogue will first exchange views about what should be the topics before we can talk about them. And we will not solely focus on economic or cultural issues. Instead, we will let the topics open," he said.
Surakiat said he has been considering how such a multilateral forum can be formed and he found if it is merely economic or cultural, it would probably lead to incessant disputes without any positive outcome.
"This time, when I am talking with Chinese leaders about my opinion that all Asian countries have to be united, and the issues of how can they be united, I think the idea of such a loose Asian cooperation dialogue could be one option," he said.
The foreign minister said he would like to work with his Chinese counterpart to see whether the planned Asian Cooperation Dialogue is possible, and would like to support the leading role of China in regional talks related to that issue.
During his visit, Surakiat said he will also discuss with the Chinese side on the ways to foster the cooperation between Southern China and Northern Thailand.
"Although the two countries don't share a common boundary, we are deeply linked through rivers and blood, " he remarked.
"I would like to look at the possibility if we can have better arrangements in terms of special tax region and non-tariff region, and I also would like to find markets for Thai agriculture goods to export to China, which will involve millions of farmers in northern Thailand," he said.
"At the same time, we will be willing to import products from Southern China, and we also would like to discuss the possibility of creating a transport network linking Northern Thailand and Southern China," said the foreign minister.
"Thirdly, I would like to explore the possibility of trilateral cooperation among Thailand, China and Myanmar," he said, citing the eradication of illicit drugs and a road network as the possible areas of cooperation.
"All the above issues will form a framework which can signify the new era of economic partnership between Thailand and China," he noted.
"It is a natural call for Thailand and China to have much more closer relations in all dimensions, especially economic ties, and that is compatible with the new Thai government's foreign policy which highlights economic involvement," the foreign minister said.
"We will evaluate the more closer link with nearby countries, to have more economic cooperation. And I would like to hear more from leaders in China about the policy that was announced by Chinese premier Zhu Rongji in Singapore last year which focuses on trade and investment relations with ASEAN countries," Surakiat said.
"I will discuss the mechanism which can bring trade and investment from Chinese business communities, especially that of Shanghai, to Thailand," he remarked.
He mentioned that from his earlier discussion with Chinese businessmen in Shanghai, he found that they were seeking more efficient two-way communications between Thai and Chinese business circles.
"At the same time, Thai businessmen are also keen to know what Chinese investors are looking for and how they can participate in Thai projects. However, surprisingly, there is not a formal venue yet to exchange such information between Chinese businessmen and their Thai counterparts. We have to improve this," he said.
The foreign minister said he is proposing to establish a Thai- Chinese Business Council which comprises top entrepreneurs from both countries, for more efficient information exchange and further enhancing bilateral economic relations.
"I wholly welcome and support the new direction of China to concentrate more on business and trade relations with ASEAN countries, and I welcome the new strategy in China's economic planning to encourage Chinese businessmen to do business with other countries, especially those in ASEAN," Surakiat said.
Asked if he thinks the bilateral trade relations between China and Thailand will be affected after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), he responded, "Surely there will be some areas we will compete, but also there are many other areas we can further cooperate, and that will benefit both of us."
If it is a healthy competition, he said he believed the bilateral business relations will not be harmed.
"What needs to be done now is that we should sit down and identify areas where we have healthy competitions, and areas where we can work together and be competitive together in the global market," said the foreign minister.
He suggested to establish a platform on a "very, very friendly basis" to look at issues which the two countries can cooperate together, and support each other in ASEAN, WTO and other international organizations.
"I strongly disagree with the opinion that once China enters WTO, it will become a trade enemy of Thailand. Not at all," he stressed.
On behalf on Thailand's new government, the foreign minister said, "We would like to create a mechanism within which Chinese businessmen can play a more active role in Thailand, and we are willing to encourage more Chinese investors to be present in Thailand."
"We would also like to see more economic exchanges between China and Thailand, in order to mark a new era for bilateral economic partnership," he noted.
On the Taiwan issue, he pledged that the Thai government will stick to the One China Policy and would like to see the peaceful reunification of two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
He said the new Thai government also appreciate China's policy to develop its grassroots rural economy which has made impressive achievements.
"Now Thailand will pay more attention to strengthen its grassroots economy, and in that area the two countries can learn from each other's experience," said Surakiat, who is also the top policy-drafter of the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party.
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