General

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of China-Thailand comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation is ushering in new opportunities. At the China-Thailand Cooperation Forum held online and offline on June 15, many Chinese and Thai industry professionals worked together to discuss further deepening the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Enterprises of both sides should seize new opportunities such as the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), expand wider and wider areas of cooperation, and continue to make the cake of China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation bigger.

Economic and trade cooperation bears fruit

"China-Thailand economic and trade relations have formed a multi-level, multi-channel and all-round cooperation pattern." Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang said in his speech that China and Thailand are good neighbors, good brothers and good partners, and the two countries are vigorously developing the "Belt and Road" initiative. The construction of connectivity has also achieved outstanding results in cooperation in infrastructure, industrial investment, digital economy, agriculture, e-commerce and other fields. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, the two countries have joined hands to fight the epidemic and jointly promote economic recovery. The comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has continued to develop, and the concept of "China and Thailand as one family" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Thai Ambassador to China Atayut said that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the upgrading of Thailand-China relations to comprehensive strategic partnership. The bilateral economic cooperation is close and there is still a lot of room for cooperation and development. The two sides should take this opportunity to work together to maintain Thailand China-China relations continue to flourish, and further develop it.

In 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Thailand will reach US$131.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33%. On the basis of the high growth rate, the trade volume between China and Thailand from January to May this year increased by 6% year-on-year. In addition, from January to April this year, Thailand was also one of the top ten non-financial direct investment countries by Chinese enterprises in the countries along the “Belt and Road”.

Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council and chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee, said that since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Thailand 10 years ago, the relationship between the two countries has developed in an all-round and in-depth manner. Elevate to a new stage. From January to May this year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Thailand increased by 1.7 times compared with the same period 10 years ago.

Talking about the reasons for the rapid growth of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, Xu Ningning analyzed the investment of Chinese companies in Thailand as an example. First, the people of the two countries highly recognize "China and Thailand as one family", and the friendly relationship between the two countries has a solid foundation. Second, political harmony brings business connectivity, and the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has brought cooperation vitality to the two countries. Third, the two sides are highly complementary in economy and trade. Fourth, arrangements such as the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement provide institutional convenience. Fifth, Thailand has special preferential policies to attract investment, rich natural resources and labor resources, and good industrial facilities. Sixth, Chinese enterprises can better explore the ASEAN and even the global market by investing in Thailand.

Fully seize new opportunities

With the implementation of RCEP, the opening of the China-Laos high-speed railway, the in-depth development of the "Belt and Road" construction, and the continuous strengthening of the foundation for cooperation between the two sides, China-Thailand mutually beneficial cooperation is ushering in a new historical opportunity.

Han Zhiqiang said that at present, China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation has shown a strong momentum of development despite the impact of the epidemic. "I believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation will surely ride the wind and waves and move forward, benefiting the two peoples and making new contributions to the peace and development of the region."

"I am convinced that Thailand-China cooperation, especially economic cooperation, will be more prosperous and have broader prospects in the next ten years." Atayo believes that as comprehensive strategic partners, Thailand and China have been working hand in hand for the past ten years, in mutual understanding. On the basis of and support, we can jointly overcome challenges, and the close relationship between the two countries will promote the further deepening of economic and trade cooperation.

Atayut said that Thailand and China should further improve the level of economic and trade cooperation and expand the areas of cooperation to better adapt to the changes in the current world pattern. Specifically, efforts should be made from four aspects: first, to promote local cooperation between Thailand and China, and to give full play to the exhibition. And the promotion role of the Chamber of Commerce, etc., to continuously deepen local cooperation. The second is to give more and better play to the role of RCEP and other related free trade agreements. The third is to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields such as bio-economy, circular economy and green economy. Fourth, expand regional and sub-regional cooperation to improve people's living standards.

In Xu Ningning's view, China and Thailand need further efforts to deepen economic and trade cooperation in five areas: First, to speed up interconnection and deepen the connection between the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and development strategies such as "Thailand 4.0" and "Eastern Economic Corridor". The second is to strengthen industrial cooperation and establish a cooperation mechanism for major industries of the two countries. The third is to increase two-way investment, expand the scale of investment and drive trade growth. Fourth, enterprises of both sides make good use of the free trade agreement policy and cooperate to develop the markets of the two countries, the regional market and even the international market. Fifth, deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, media, youth, think tanks and other people-to-people and cultural fields.