The Chinese prime minister, Li Qiang, has met with his Thai counterpart, Autin Charnvirakul, in a meeting in which both leaders have advocated for strengthening bilateral relations through a new round of strategic agreements in trade, investment and major infrastructure, as detailed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a communiqué.
Li has underlined that the exchange of visits by the heads of government of both countries in just four months demonstrates "the high level of bilateral relations" and has reiterated Beijing's willingness to deepen cooperation with Thailand.
Among the lines of work prioritized is giving a new impetus to collaboration within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (the New Silk Road), advancing the realization of flagship projects such as the China-Thailand railway and accelerating talks to agree on a new five-year plan for economic and trade cooperation.
Both sides have also proposed intensifying mutual recognition and the protection of geographical indications, as well as expanding exchanges in areas such as finance, renewable energy, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI), with the goal of achieving "mutually beneficial results" in a higher phase of collaboration.
The Chinese prime minister has also conveyed to his counterpart the intention to increase purchases of high-quality Thai products and to stimulate the arrival of new investments by Chinese companies in Thailand. To this end, he has asked Bangkok to provide these companies with "a fair, stable and predictable environment" for the development of their activities.
Goal: move from trade partners to strategic partners
The Thai prime minister has backed the need to raise the level of the relationship between Beijing and Bangkok and has argued that the two nations should "move from being trade partners to becoming strategic partners that collaborate both in planning and in investment".
In this regard, he has asked for speeding up the entry into force of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement and advancing the high-speed train project between Thailand and China, with the view that the first phase can be operational in 2030.
Charnvirakul has also pointed out that this phase of economic expansion must be based on the transfer of technology and knowledge to local entrepreneurs, which makes it necessary to update the regulatory framework to favor the development of emerging sectors such as data centers, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
As he has explained in a statement released on social networks, this commitment will be complemented by strengthening activities already established in the country and by improving the training of Thailand’s workforce in engineering, digital skills and artificial intelligence, through cooperation between Chinese companies and Thai universities and vocational training centers to design programs tailored to the needs of modern industries.
In this context, the Thai leader has encouraged Chinese companies to increase their presence in Thailand and to participate in its technological modernization, while also calling for expanding the activity of Thai companies in China. The Government, he added, undertakes to facilitate business projects, remove administrative obstacles and set clear rules so that this cooperation can generate "concrete and sustainable economic results in the long term".