Chinese, Thai FMs hold talks on closer relations, cooperation

BANGKOK -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks on Oct 15 with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on enhancing bilateral ties and cooperation.

Wang said China and Thailand have seen their relations display great tenacity and huge potential in strengthening cooperation to overcome the difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The important consensus reached in July between the leaderships of the two countries on further strengthening solidarity and cooperation has provided the strategic guidance for and injected strong impetus into the development of bilateral ties, he noted.

Wang arrived in Thailand Wednesday night, the last leg of his Southeast Asia tour which has taken him to Cambodia, Malaysia, and Laos as well as a transit visit to Singapore.

The Chinese side is willing to join hands with the Thai side to seek new ideas and key points in their cooperation against the backdrop of regular epidemic prevention and control, and push for greater progress in post-COVID-19 bilateral relations, in order to better benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional stability and development, he said.

Wang added that China is ready to work with Thailand to enhance anti-epidemic collaboration, conduct cooperation on vaccine and medicine research and development, with Thailand's needs concerning technology transfer, production, packaging or purchase taken into account, establish the "fast lane" for personnel movement and the "green channel" for goods at an early date, as well as boost networked regional passages.

The Chinese official also urged the two sides to actively advance the joint construction of the Belt and Road and speed up the building of the China-Thailand high-speed railway for an early connection to the China-Laos Railway in order to improve regional interconnectivity.

China supports the development of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, and is willing to promote its synergy with south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, encourage Chinese enterprises to take part in the related projects, and expand production capacity cooperation, setting a model for mutually beneficial cooperation with win-win results, he noted.

Moreover, Wang said, the two countries should strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence and cloud computing among other high technologies to facilitate the growth of emerging industries.

China is willing to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, including Thailand, to make sure the two sides sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) within this year, and cooperate on digital economy and the blue economy, in a bid to promote the bilateral cooperation to a new level in the post-epidemic era, he said.

Wang suggested the two sides successfully implement the results achieved at the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting, push forward the synergy of the LMC and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and make the LMC and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Master Plan to complement each other.

China is willing to work with the Thai side to strengthen communication and coordination on multilateral affairs, practice multilateralism, safeguard the authority of the United Nations, improve global governance, and jointly maintain peace, stability, equality and justice of the international society, as well as the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, Wang said.

For his part, Don said this year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two sides have overcome adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, maintained communication and exchanges and further deepened cooperation in all fields.

While appreciating China's commitment to make its COVID-19 vaccine a global public good when available, Don said his country hoped to strengthen cooperation with China on vaccine development and open the "fast lane" to facilitate personnel exchanges at an early date.

Thailand is steadily pushing forward the construction of the Thailand-China high-speed rail and supports the connection between the China-Laos Railway and the Thailand-China high-speed rail. Thailand hopes that China would continue support the construction of the country's Eastern Economic Corridor and enhance the cooperation in the fields of innovation and sustainable development, the Thai foreign minister said.

Thailand is ready to step up coordination with China in regional and international affairs and advance the development of ties between ASEAN and China, so as to strengthen international solidarity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the global economy, he added.