The 14th China-Thai Film Festival opened in Bangkok on Saturday. China's ambassador to Thailand said movies could help the world understand more about Chinese culture. CGTN's Martin Lowe was at the event.

It has international appeal – but this movie is 100% Chinese. The Wandering Earth is an all-action space disaster film, described as China's first "full-scale" interstellar spectacular. It's one of a number of Chinese and Thai feature films being screened side-by-side at venues across Bangkok – as part of the 14th China-Thai Film Festival. Chinese actors and representatives of the film industry attended the launch at the Chinese Cultural Center in the Thai capital.

LYU JIAN CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO THAILAND "Chinese film presents the charm and special culture of China. In 2018 the Chinese movie industry generated an income of eight and a half billion US dollars."

ITTIPOL KHUNPLUEM THAI MINISTER OF CULTURE "Thai and Chinese people are like family and movies reflect the culture, society and life of the people."

The aim of the festival is to highlight China's flourishing movie industry and offer an insight into Chinese culture through the medium of film. It's part of an ongoing program exchanging customs and traditions between the two countries.

MARTIN LOWE BANGKOK "China's movie industry is now the world's second-largest – Chinese films, like The Wandering Earth, are screened around the globe breaking box-office records. China has the world's biggest film studios and the highest number of movie screens."

Four Chinese movies, four Chinese TV shows and four Thai films are being shown at movie theaters, public halls and schools - with no admission fees - in the hope of attracting the widest possible audiences to advance into the world of celluloid what is already a long-standing close relationship between China and Thailand. Martin Lowe, CGTN, Bangkok.