From the Belt and Road Initiative to the building of a more stable, prosperous and sustainable China-Thailand community with a shared future, China-Thailand friendship embarks on a new chapter.
Last year, Mrs. Jiraporn Sudanich, Consul-General of the Kingdom of Thailand in Guangzhou, witnessed the landmark cooperation between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand. In her view, Guangdong province serves as an excellent example of the success of China's great development achievements. She expects Thailand, China to expand practical cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, information and telecommunications, and also hopes to promote people-to-people contact through exchanges and co-operation in tourism, media and other fields.
Both the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand are significant national development strategies for China and Thailand. Both regions are important nodes in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. What is the current status of Guangdong's involvement in the construction of the Eastern Economic Corridor in Thailand? In the future, in which areas do you hope investors from the Greater Bay Area to focus on in Thailand?
The Royal Thai Consulate-General is actively taking part in promoting the cooperation between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
Thailand is thrilled to have witnessed a true testament of the GBA-EEC cooperation last year as BYD Auto from Shenzhen, an important driver of the GBA, is now in the EEC, to press forward the EV production supply chain at the regional and global levels.
The GBA-EEC cooperation has further been reinforced by the visit of Governor Wang Weizhong of Guangdong Province to the EEC during his visit as an official guest of the Royal Thai Government in June 2023.
Thailand continues to welcome more foreign investment and business partners into the EEC. We are focusing on strategic sectors with high potential for growth, including digital technology, health and wellbeing, smart logistics, decarbonisation such as EV and renewable energy.
Similar to Guangdong and China, Thailand's development momentum continues to present new business opportunities for investors around the world. One of the upcoming projects is to improve connectivity at the regional level, the Royal Thai government plans to significantly upgrade Thailand's infrastructure with the implementation of the land bridge project.
The land bridge project will connect Ranong on the Andaman Sea to Chumpon on the Gulf of Thailand. This mega project under“one port, two sides” concept will reduce the commute time going through the Strait of Malacca and enhance Thailand's logistic competitiveness. We stand ready to welcome potential investors to participate in this project for our mutual interests.
Thailand has always been a favored destination for Chinese travellers. How has the overall situation been for Chinese tourists visiting Thailand this year, and how is the recovery of Thailand's tourism business progressing? In the future, how in your hope both sides can strengthen cooperation in the tourism?
Thailand is happy to have been a popular destination for Chinese travellers. According to the statistics on 12 November this year, Thailand has received more than 23-million foreign tourists. Among them, Chinese tourists account for about 12 percent - about 2.9 million.
During and following the opening up from the pandemic, relevant parties in Thailand have been joining hand to restore and enhance tourism supplies in the country.
Thailand hopes to further improve flight availability between Thailand and China, with the cooperation from the Chinese side. We hope to bring the flights number of Thai airlines on par to the pre-pandemic level to fully facilitate the exchanges between our peoples in tourism and businesses alike.
Given the return of tourism exchanges, we hope that the understanding between our people will be strengthened. Deeper understanding and strong bond between peoples will provide great immunity against misunderstanding, fake news, and unverifiable pieces of information that easily spread online.
Media also plays an important and responsible role in promoting correct understanding between the people. The collaboration from this sector will certainly be beneficial for the overall Thai-China relations too.
Other than that, various extra-ordinary Thai experience is awaiting friends from China and around the world – from beautiful local culture, auspicious temples, delicious street food, fun city-walks, stunning beaches and islands, spa and wellness or luxurious hotels and resorts. Thailand will continue be a perfect and memorable holiday destination for everyone!
Living and working in Guangzhou, how would you describe China as a country? What are your thoughts on China's concept of "Chinese-style modernization"? Additionally, how do you perceive China's role in international affairs?
With Guangdong's total GDP ranking the nation's largest for the 34th consecutive year and the level of modernization and development it enjoys today, the province serves as an excellent example of the success of China's great development achievements.
Thailand applauds China's development success in the past decades and believes that China's strength and capability will build itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects.
We also believe that with initiatives to engage with various countries around the world, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and Global Development Initiative, China is in a good position to address global agenda.