China wants to revive joint panel on trade and investment
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China's ambassador to Thailand, Ning Fukui, yesterday met Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula at Parliament to discuss the possibility of boosting trade and investment between the countries.
It would come via the revival of the Thai-China Joint Committee on Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation after more than 10 years of idleness.
The first meeting could be held in Beijing this year, while Thailand could host the follow-up meeting.
Pridiyathorn said China was a major trading partner of Thailand and a major export market for Thai goods, accounting for 12 per cent of Thai exports compared to 2 per cent 15 years ago.
He said China’s huge economy served as the main pillar for the East Asian economies.
Exports to East Asian states
Because of that, he said the Thai-China Joint Committee on Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation should also boost Thai exports to East Asian countries, which currently accounted for more than 55 per cent of total exports.
The cooperation would oversee trade and investment issues, including agricultural commodities. No specific targets would be set – but the more the better – as long as both sides benefited.
Asked whether China had confidence in Thailand’s military-led interim government, Pridiyathorn said the Chinese had never voiced opposition, preferring to stick to their role as a long-standing trading partner of Thailand.
On a separate matter, Pridiyathorn urged the National Legislative Assembly to consider the inheritance tax issue.
He said the upper-income group seemed to accept the inheritance tax, as the proposed 10-per-cent rate was still much lower than the 33-55 per cent abroad.
However, the land tax was a relatively more complex issue and required more time for a thorough review.
The oil excise tax was another issue that the government must address, but the priority for now was to reduce the wealth inequality caused by the current tax system.
As for the possibility of extending the debt-repayment period for the rice subsidy scheme by 30 years, Pridiyathorn said more time was needed to study the matter and in any case, the government would not allow this huge debt to affect the allocation of annual fiscal budgets.
