China eyes to further traditional friendship, cooperation with Thailand: Premier Li

VIENTIANE -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China is ready to work with Thailand to take next year's 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to further carry forward traditional friendship, strengthen strategic communication, promote cooperation and push forward the building of a China-Thailand community with a shared future.

Li made the remarks during his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Vientiane.

China and Thailand are close friends and neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, Li noted, saying that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the building of the China-Thailand community with a shared future has continued to advance, with fruitful cooperation in various fields and ever heated people-to-people exchanges.

The concept of "China and Thailand as one family" has gained greater popularity, he added.

Li said that it is expected to let China-Thailand relations become even closer and bring more benefits to the people of the two countries.

Li pointed out that China firmly supports Thailand in pursuing a development path that suits its national conditions, and is willing to always serve as Thailand's trustworthy and reliable partner.

The Chinese side, Li said, is ready to work with Thailand to better align development strategies, actively communicate with each other on policies, accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand railway, promote industrial integration and development, and deepen cooperation in industrial parks, digital economy, new energy vehicles as well as photovoltaic and other fields, to better support the transformation and upgrade of their respective economies.

The Chinese premier also called on the two sides to jointly host activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year and strengthen exchanges in media, culture, tourism, education, and youth to consolidate public support for friendship between the two countries.

China, Li said, is ready to work with Thailand to implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement in a high-quality manner, accelerate regional economic integration, strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation, and jointly safeguard the peaceful and stable development in the region.

For her part, Paetongtarn extended warm congratulations on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, expressing the firm belief that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China will continue to grow stronger and make greater contributions to world peace and prosperity.

Noting that next year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Thailand and China, she said Thailand is willing to jointly hold a series of celebrations with China, further strengthen high-level exchanges, promote mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture and other fields, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and jointly crack down on transnational crimes such as online gambling and telephone fraud, in a bid to constantly push forward the building of a Thailand-China community with a shared future.

Thailand, she said, is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China within ASEAN, Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and other multilateral frameworks, jointly promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and safeguard regional peace, stability and prosperity.