BANGKOK -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday that Chinese and Thai enterprises should follow the prevailing trend and seize opportunities to elevate their cooperation to higher levels.
Li made the remarks while attending a symposium with Chinese and Thai entrepreneurs, along with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in Bangkok.
After listening to remarks from representatives of both countries' business communities, Li said that as China and Thailand work together to usher in a new golden 50 years of bilateral relations, new opportunities are emerging for economic and trade cooperation.
To begin with, China and Thailand enjoy the stability brought by high-level mutual trust and friendship, Li said. In today's world marked by turbulence and uncertainty, stability has become a scarce resource, he said, noting that China-Thailand relations and cooperation have demonstrated strong stability.
Close and regular communication between the leaders of the two countries, along with strong people-to-people ties and cultural affinity, has provided businesses in both countries with a stable and predictable environment for expanding investment and making long-term plans, Li said.
Growing connectivity between the two countries also brings an aggregation effect, Li said. The steady progress in the construction of the China-Thailand railway, the official opening of China's Pinglu Canal, and the strengthening "soft connectivity" in areas such as trade rules, standards and finance have facilitated more seamless interaction between the two markets, enabling more enterprises to generate greater economic benefits, he added.
Flourishing innovative cooperation between the two countries also brings an empowering effect, Li said. China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation continues to expand beyond traditional areas into high-tech, emerging and cutting-edge fields, with new business models and areas of growth constantly emerging, he said.
This makes it an opportune time for the two sides to leverage their respective strengths and deepen innovation cooperation, Li said.
The two sides should upgrade cooperation from "dining tables and taste buds" to "digital intelligence and green development," Li said, calling for expanding traditional trade in agricultural and food products, advancing agricultural modernization in both countries, and pursuing cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, clean energy and biomedicine to jointly foster and strengthen new growth drivers.
Li called for upgrading cooperation from "production collaboration" to "industrial synergy," adding that the two sides should enhance complementarity and integration in industrial and supply chains, and promote the alignment and mutual recognition of industry standards, to jointly improve competitiveness through more efficient coordination and move up the global value chain.
China encourages Chinese enterprises to expand localized operations in Thailand, he added.
Li also called for upgrading cooperation from "a bilateral focus" to "regional outreach" by leveraging Thailand's geographic advantages, making good use of policy dividends such as the entry into force of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, and expanding cooperation in third-party markets worldwide to better achieve win-win and multi-win outcomes.
The governments of China and Thailand will make active efforts to provide a sound business environment for enterprises of both countries and support their long-term development and deeper engagement in local markets, Li said.
He also expressed hope that entrepreneurs from both countries would serve as envoys of friendship among the people and make China-Thailand relations even closer and stronger.
For his part, Anutin said China is Thailand's most important trading partner, noting that Thailand hopes to seize the opportunities brought by technological advances and work with China to leverage their respective strengths and achieve higher-quality cooperation.
The two countries should move beyond being merely trading partners to becoming long-term partners pursuing common development and mutual success, while further expanding cooperation in electric vehicles, agriculture, investment, connectivity and other areas, Anutin said.
Thailand will introduce more policies and measures to create favorable conditions for the long-term operations and development of Chinese enterprises in the country, combat transnational crime and protect the rights and interests of investors, he said.
Anutin also expressed confidence that the friendship characterized as "Thailand and China are as close as one family" would yield more tangible results and benefit the peoples of both countries.
Speaking at the event, business representatives from both countries briefed the leaders on the progress and outcomes of their cooperation and offered specific suggestions.
They expressed full confidence in the China-Thailand friendship and their willingness to further strengthen cooperation and contribute to the development and prosperity of both countries through more practical achievements.
