China visit a boost for ties, PM says
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Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday described her recent visit to China as a success after several agreements were signed with Thailand for increased bilateral cooperation in many areas, including renewable energy, water management, and high-spee
Yingluck said that during her official trip to China from April 17 to 19, she met many top leaders and that the trip received a very good response from businesspeople.
She said Thailand and China would have closer cooperation in areas of trade, tourism, energy, education, and culture, with bilateral trade projected to increase at least 20 per cent a year, investment by 15 per cent a year, and tourism 20 per cent a year.
Yingluck was speaking during her weekly television programme “The Yingluck Government Meets the People”, which is broadcast on state-run media every Saturday.
She said that seven memoranda of understanding were signed between the two countries regarding renewable energy. There would also be cooperation in high-speed train projects to be built in Thailand, and water management.
Executives from 107 Thai companies accompanied the PM during her trip and executives from some 800 Chinese firms took part in discussions with her delegation and the Thai businesspeople. She said the Chinese were interested in investing more in Thailand.
She also mentioned the Chinese government’s permission for pandas loaned to Thailand to remain in the Kingdom beyond next year, when the animals were earlier scheduled to be returned. She described the Chinese permission as a sign of close ties between the two countries.
Yingluck said there was a goal for Thailand to attract as many as 2 million Chinese in a year, up from 1.7 million at present.
There was also a plan to increase bilateral trade to US$100 billion within five years, which the Chinese authorities described as “challenging”, according to the Thai prime minister. “But they believe that the goal can be achieved,” she added.
The premier said she had had an opportunity to visit the Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters at Huapin Environment Preservation Centre, which was the central command to control flood and drought in China.
The government has asked China to send experts on water management to work with the National Water Resources and Flood Policy Committee as advisers. She also visited the high-speed train service, which could travel at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour from Tianjin to Beijing.
