Thailand ready to strengthen economic ties with China, PM affirms
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday confirmed the Thai government’s readiness to working with its Chinese counterpart to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.
He said Thailand is looking to boost its partnership with China for a future that is “strong, wealthy and sustainable — like a saying that China and Thailand are no strangers. We are brothers and sisters”.
The Thai premier was speaking during his special lecture given at the Thailand-China Investment Forum organised at the Shangri-La Bangkok Hotel.
The event was also attended by China’s Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang and Thailand’s Deputy Premier and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.
General Prayut said the forum was a good initiative by the Thai private sector to serve as “an important mechanism” in strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
“This is a good opportunity for both countries to work together in recovering the economies severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis and boosting bilateral cooperation for sustainable development,” the PM said.
He noted that this year marks the first decade of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Thailand and China.
The prime minister said that the Thai government is attempting to attract investments from other countries, particularly China, by improving Thailand’s infrastructure and developing new industrial zones such as the Eastern Economic Corridor.
He pointed out that Chinese companies have the potential and expertise in many industries, particularly involving electric vehicles and digital manufacturing.
He noted that in the first nine months of this year, about 45 billion baht of investment had come from China into the electronics, electrical appliances and EV industries.
