From the Belt and Road Initiative to the building of a more stable, prosperous and sustainable China-Thailand community with a shared future, China-Thailand friendship embarks on new chapter.

Last year, Mrs. Jiraporn Sudanich, Consul-General of the Kingdom of Thailand in Guangzhou, witnessed the landmark cooperation between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand. In her view, Guangdong province serves as an excellent example of the success of China's great development achievements. She expects Thailand, China to expand practical cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, information and and telecommunications, and also hopes to promote people-to-people contact through exchanges and co-operation in tourism, media and other fields.

Yangcheng Evening News: ASEAN is China's largest trading partner. In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese companies have also invested in Thailand. How do you evaluate the economic interactions between China and Thailand? What are your expectations for further economic cooperation between China and Thailand in the future? Are there any notable projects that you can reveal?

Sudanich: Both the visits of President Xi Jinping to Thailand in November 2022 and the visit of Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to Beijing in October 2023 have paved the way for Thailand - China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership. 

The high-level meetings between Thailand and China that have taken place regularly provide strong foundation for closer and comprehensive ties between our two countries. 

From the latest meetings of our leaders, it has been outlined that the cooperation between China and Thailand will be focused on building a Thailand - China community with a shared future for enhanced stability, prosperity, and sustainability.

Under this vision, Thailand and China will continue to expand our cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, information and telecommunications and other areas. We also seek China's cooperation in enhancing the competitiveness of Thai products in China through various platforms.

Apart from the high-level exchanges, during and after the pandemic, Thailand has seen an increasing number of experienced Chinese investors as well as rising young entrepreneurs choosing to invest in our country.

Thailand welcomes investment to Thailand and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with China on areas of mutual interests, including electric vehicles, clean energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and aerospace science and technology. 

Yangcheng Evening News: Both the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand are significant national development strategies for China and Thailand. Both regions are important nodes in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. What is the current status of Guangdong's involvement in the construction of the Eastern Economic Corridor in Thailand? In the future, in which areas do you hope investors from the Greater Bay Area will focus on in Thailand? 

Sudanich: The Royal Thai Consulate-General is actively taking part in promoting the cooperation between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Thailand is thrilled to have witnessed a true testament of the GBA-EEC cooperation last year as BYD Auto from Shenzhen, an important driver of the GBA, is now in the EEC, to press forward the EV production supply chain at the regional and global levels.

The GBA-EEC cooperation has further been reinforced by the visit of Governor Wang Weizhong of Guangdong Province to the EEC during his visit as an official guest of the Royal Thai Government in June 2023.

Thailand continues to welcome more foreign investment and business partners into the EEC. We are focusing on strategic sectors with high potential for growth, including digital technology, health and wellbeing, smart logistics, decarbonisation such as EV and renewable energy.

Similar to Guangdong and China, Thailand’s development momentum continues to present new business opportunities for investors around the world. One of the upcoming projects is to improve connectivity at the regional level, the Royal Thai government plans to significantly upgrade Thailand’s infrastructure with the implementation of the land bridge project.

The land bridge project will connect Ranong on the Andaman Sea to Chumpon on the Gulf of Thailand. This mega project under“one port, two sides” concept will reduce the commute time going through the Strait of Malacca and enhance Thailand’s logistic competitiveness. We stand ready to welcome potential investors to participate in this project for our mutual interests.

Yangcheng Evening News: Thailand has always been a favored destination for Chinese travelers. How has the overall situation been for Chinese tourists visiting Thailand this year, and how is the recovery of Thailand's tourism business progressing? In the future, how do you hope both sides can strengthen cooperation in the tourism?

Sudanich: Thailand is happy to have been a popular destination for Chinese travelers. According to the statistics on 12 November this year, Thailand has received more than 23-million foreign tourists. Among these, Chinese tourists account for about 12 percent - about 2.9 million.

During and following the opening up from the pandemic, relevant parties in Thailand have been joining hand to restore and enhance tourism supplies in the country. 

Thailand hopes to further improve flight availability between Thailand and China, with the cooperation from the Chinese side. We hope to bring the flights number of Thai airlines on par to the pre-pandemic level to fully facilitate the exchanges between our peoples in tourism and businesses alike.

Given the return of tourism exchanges, we hope that the understanding between our people will be strengthened. Deeper understanding and strong bond between peoples will provide great immunity against misunderstanding, fake news, and unverifiable pieces of information that easily spread online.

Media also plays an important and responsible role in promoting correct understanding between the people. The collaboration from this sector will certainly be beneficial for the overall Thai-China relations too.

Other than that, various extra-ordinary Thai experience is awaiting friends from China and around the world – from beautiful local culture, auspicious temples, delicious street food, fun city-walks, stunning beaches and islands, spa and wellness or luxurious hotels and resorts. Thailand will continue be a perfect and memorable holiday destination for everyone!

Yanccheng Evening News: Living and working in Guangzhou, how would you describe China as a country? What are your thoughts on China's concept of "Chinese-style modernization"? Additionally, how do you perceive China's role in international affairs?

Sudanich: With Guangdong's total GDP ranking the nation's largest for the 34th consecutive year and the level of modernization and development it enjoys today, the province serves as an excellent example of the success of China's great development achievements.

Thailand applauds China’s development success in the past decades and believes that China's strength and capability will build itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

We also believe that with initiatives to engage with various countries around the world, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and Global Development Initiative, China is in a good position to address global agenda.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

文丨记者 古司祺
图、视频丨记者 宋金峪 蔡嘉鸿
视频剪辑丨黎杰文

来源 | 羊城晚报•羊城派
责编 | 王楠
校对 | 彭继业