On 24-27 June 2009, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, accompanied Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to the People’s Republic of China. It was the first official visit since the government came to office, and included stops in Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou. The visit helped foster closer Sino-Thai relations and cooperation at all levels, especially in trade, investment and tourism. It also received considerable attention from the local media, which is useful in reviving the confidence of Chinese investors and tourists in Thailand.
During the visit, the Prime Minister paid a courtesy call on President Hu Jintao and met with Premier Wen Jiabao. They discussed bilateral relations in such areas as trade and investment, infrastructure, education, culture, tourism and agriculture. Prime Minister Abhisit and his Chinese counterpart witnessed the signing of 3 agreements: 1) the Protocol on Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Thai Fruit Exports from Thailand to China; 2) the Agreement on Expanding and Deepening Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation (EDBETC); and 3) the Agreement on Education Cooperation. Both sides also consulted on ways to tackle the economic crisis domestically, regionally and globally. Additionally, the Thai Prime Minister met with Mr. Zhang Gaoli, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Tianjin Municipal Committee, Mr. Wang Yang, Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Committee, and Mr. Huang Huahua, Governor of Guangdong.
The Prime Minister also met with Chinese businessmen and key executives from the private sector and state-owned enterprises, including the President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the President of the China Railway Engineering Cooperation (CREC), the state-owned enterprise which oversees most rail transport in China. He encouraged Chinese investors to participate in the second phase of Thailand’s stimulus package, and gave speeches to bolster confidence in Thailand’s tourism at the “Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value” seminars in Beijing and Guangzhou.
Other duties performed by Prime Minister Abhisit during the visit included chairing the Team Thailand meeting in Beijing, meeting Thai students studying in the Chinese capital, learning about urban planning in the Pinhai area of Tianjin, and visiting a fruit market in Jiangnan, Guangzhou, which is an important national distribution center for imported Thai bananas, durians, and lychees.
The Prime Minister’s official visit attracted a great deal of attention from the Chinese media, including CCTV1, Phoenix TV, Xinhua, China Radio International (CRI), People’s Daily Newspaper and the online sina.com. Prime Minister Abhisit held a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, and took questions from the media on Thai-Chinese relations, the political situation in Thailand, and Thailand’s regional role as ASEAN Chair.
During the four-day visit, the Prime Minister was accompanied by more than thirty Thai businessmen, making the delegation the biggest official Thai entourage ever to visit China, reflecting the importance Thailand gives to China, particularly in terms of trade and investment. Thailand and the PRC will celebrate the 35th Anniversary of their diplomatic relations next June. Both sides are planning a range of cultural activities to celebrate the occasion.
For more information on the Prime Minister’s official visit to the PRC, please see www.thaigov.go.th
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th