Joint building of Belt and Road highlighted (5)

Srettha Thavisin

Thailand

China and Thailand should be pacesetters in the high-quality building of the Belt and Road, accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand railway and expand cooperation in sectors including the digital economy, green development and new energy, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

During a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Beijing, Xi underlined Beijing's support for Bangkok in following a path that suits its national conditions, saying that the two sides should continue to provide firm support to each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.

Srettha, who took office in August, chose China as the destination of his first official visit outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. This fully reflects the high importance that Thailand's new government attaches to China-Thailand relations, Xi said.

China and Thailand should work together to keep adding new dimensions to their family-like bond and transform the traditional strengths of bilateral relations into a driving force for win-win cooperation, he said.

He urged heightened people-to-people exchanges and joint efforts in combating cross-border crimes such as telecom fraud and online gambling.

China will work with Thailand to strengthen cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as ASEAN, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism and the United Nations, Xi said, adding that the country is willing to share opportunities created by its large market and high-level opening-up, and inject positive energy into Asia's development.

Srettha said he sincerely admires President Xi's vision and China's achievements in poverty reduction, saying he stands ready to learn from China's governance experience.

He expressed the hope that both sides would deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, jointly build the China-Thailand railway, and move forward with the vision of interconnected development of China, Laos and Thailand.

Thailand will make every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Thailand and welcome more Chinese companies to invest in and more Chinese tourists to visit the country, he said.

XU WEI