Thailand, China agree to carry on traditional friendship, expand bilateral cooperation

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

BANGKOK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Thailand and China agreed here Tuesday to carry on traditional friendship, expand bilateral cooperation and plan for the future development of relations.

While meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his country attaches great importance to the China-proposed Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative and admires China's great achievements in eliminating extreme poverty.

Thailand expects to learn from China's development experience, grasp the trend of the times, seize the historical opportunity and push for the Thailand-China cooperation in all fields, the Thai prime minister said.

Wang said China and Thailand have witnessed healthy and stable development of relations, which benefits from the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the traditional friendship of China and Thailand that are close like a family, and the firm political trust between the two countries.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, Wang said the two sides agreed to set the joint construction of the China-Thailand community with a shared future as a goal and vision, work together to enrich the connotation of "China and Thailand are close like a family," and forge ahead for a more stable, prosperous and sustainable future for the two countries.

Wang said China and Thailand could work on building a China-Laos-Thailand Railway to smooth the flow of goods with convenient channels, promote economy and trade with better logistics, and facilitate the growth of industries with robust economy and trade.

More cold-chain freight trains, tourism routes and durian expresses could be launched to make cross-border transportation more convenient, less costly, and more efficient, Wang suggested.

Prayut said Thailand and China enjoy long-standing friendship and fruitful practical cooperation. It is significant for the two sides to have reached a consensus on jointly building a community with a shared future, and Thailand stands ready to work with China in advancing it.

He expressed hope to further synergize the "Thailand 4.0" development strategy with China's Belt and Road Initiative, carry out the third party market cooperation based on Thailand-China-Laos Railway, and unleash the full potential of the border-crossing railway.

Both sides exchanged views over the APEC Informal Leaders' Meeting to be held this year.

Wang said China fully supports Thailand in playing an important role as the APEC host country for 2022 with focuses on the Asia-Pacific, development and the construction of the Asia-Pacific free trade zone, so as to inject a new and strong impetus into the regional integration process.

Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He also co-chaired the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Myanmar.