Opportunities come to China Thailand Economic and trade cooperation

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Thailand. 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 business people brainstormed to further deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation. They believed that China Thailand Economic and trade cooperation had laid a solid foundation for cooperation in the past decade. Enterprises of both sides should seize new opportunities such as the implementation of the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP), expand broader cooperation fields and continue to make the cake of China Thailand Economic and trade cooperation bigger.
Fruitful economic and trade cooperation
"China Thailand Economic and trade relations have formed a multi-level, multi-channel and all-round cooperation pattern." Han Zhiqiang, Chinese ambassador to Thailand, said in his speech that China and Thailand are good neighbors, brothers and partners. The two countries vigorously carry out the "the Belt and Road" connectivity construction, and have also made brilliant achievements in cooperation in infrastructure, industrial investment, digital economy, agriculture, e-commerce and other fields. Since the occurrence of the COVID-19, the two countries have joined hands to fight the epidemic and jointly promote economic recovery. The comprehensive strategic partnership has been developing continuously. The concept of "China and Thailand being one family" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Thai ambassador to China atayu said that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the upgrading of Thailand China relations to comprehensive strategic cooperative partners. 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 jointly maintain the momentum of Thailand China relations and further develop them.
In 2021, the bilateral trade volume between China and Thailand reached US $131.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33%. On the basis of high growth rate, the trade volume between China and Thailand increased by 6% year-on-year from January to May this year. In addition, from January to April this year, Thailand is also one of the top 10 countries in terms of non-financial direct investment by Chinese enterprises in countries along the "the Belt and Road".
Xuningning, executive chairman of the China ASEAN Business Council and chairman of the RCEP industrial cooperation committee, said that in the past 10 years since China and Thailand established a comprehensive strategic partnership, bilateral relations have developed in an all-round and in-depth way. In particular, the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" in the past nine years has continuously promoted bilateral relations 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.
Turning to the reasons for the rapid growth of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Xu Ningning analyzed the investment of Chinese enterprises in Thailand as an example. First, the two peoples highly recognize that "China and Thailand are close to each other", and the friendly relations between the two countries have a solid foundation. Second, political harmony brings business connectivity. The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has brought cooperation vitality to the two countries. Third, the two sides' economy and trade are highly complementary. Fourth, China ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and other arrangements provide institutional convenience. Fifth, Thailand has special preferential policies to attract investment, rich natural resources and labor resources, and good industrial supporting facilities. Sixth, Chinese enterprises can better explore the ASEAN and even the global market by investing in Thailand.
Comprehensively seize new opportunities
With the implementation of RCEP, the opening of China Laos high-speed railway and the in-depth promotion of the "the Belt and Road" construction, and the two sides' continuous planting of cooperation foundation, China Thailand mutually beneficial cooperation is ushering in new historical opportunities.
Hanzhiqiang said that at present, China Thailand Economic and trade cooperation has shown a strong momentum of development in overcoming the impact of the epidemic. "I believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, China Thailand Economic and trade cooperation will ride the wind and waves, forge ahead, benefit the two peoples and make new contributions to the peaceful 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 decade." Atayu believed that as comprehensive strategic cooperative partners, Thailand and China have been working hand in hand to overcome challenges on the basis of mutual understanding and support over the past decade. The close relationship between the two countries will further deepen economic and trade cooperation.
Atayu said that Thailand and China should further improve the level of economic and trade cooperation and expand cooperation fields to better adapt to the changes in the current world pattern. Specifically, efforts should be made from four aspects: first, promote Thailand China local cooperation, give better play to the promotion role of exhibitions and chambers of Commerce, and constantly deepen local cooperation. Second, give more and better play to the role of RCEP and other relevant free trade agreements. Third, promote bilateral cooperation in bio economy, circular economy, green economy and other fields. Fourth, expand regional and subregional cooperation to improve people's living standards.
In Xuningning's view, China and Thailand still need to make further efforts in five aspects to deepen economic and trade cooperation: first, accelerate connectivity and deepen the docking of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" with development strategies such as "Thailand 4.0" and "Eastern Economic Corridor". Second, strengthen industrial cooperation and establish cooperation mechanisms between major industries of the two countries. Third, increase two-way investment, expand the scale of investment and drive trade growth. Fourth, the enterprises of both sides make good use of the free trade agreement policies and cooperate to develop the markets of the two countries, regional markets and even international markets. Fifth, deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in tourism, culture, media, youth, think tanks and other people to people and cultural fields.