Premier Li Qiang says China ready to deepen trade, economic exchanges with Thailand

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday that China is ready to deepen trade and economic exchanges with Thailand and accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand railway.

Li made the remarks during talks with Sophon Zaram, president of Thailand's National Assembly and speaker of the House of Representatives, in Bangkok.

China encourages enterprises from both countries to cooperate in emerging sectors such as new energy and electronic information, strengthen collaborative innovation and jointly promote industrial upgrading, Li said.

He said that in recent years, China-Thailand relations had maintained steady and sound development, with fruitful cooperation across various fields.

Last year, the two countries held grand celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 50 golden years of China-Thailand friendship, Li said, noting that bilateral relations now stand at a new historic starting point and face new development opportunities.

Looking ahead, Li said China is willing to work with Thailand to carry forward their traditional friendship, consolidate political mutual trust and make solid progress in building a China-Thailand community with a shared future, so as to bring greater benefits to the two peoples and better serve the modernization drive of both countries.

The two sides should deepen exchanges and cooperation in areas such as culture, youth affairs, education and local affairs, enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and strengthen the public foundation of bilateral friendship, he said.

Li said the two sides should also strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs to safeguard their common interests and uphold international fairness and justice.

He expressed hope that the legislative bodies of the two countries would strengthen exchanges and cooperation, support the implementation of major projects and practical cooperation, and play a greater role in providing legal guarantees and fostering closer people-to-people ties.

For his part, Sophon said that Thailand and China enjoy a long-standing friendship and that Thailand deeply admires the remarkable development achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Thailand firmly adheres to the one-China policy and stands ready to work with China to maintain close high-level exchanges, advance exchanges and cooperation in areas such as connectivity, culture and education, law enforcement and security, and tourism, strengthen international coordination, and jointly address common challenges, Sophon said.

The Thai parliament stands ready to provide a sound legal environment and safeguards for practical and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, delivering greater benefits to the two peoples, he said.