The Chinese ambassador says his country views Thailand as an Asean logistics hub, as evidenced by continued firm commitments from Chinese construction giants to bid for the high-speed train project.
A mock-up cover of the People’s Daily Overseas Edition, a monthly bilingual publication, is shown at yesterday’s launch.
"The centre of logistics in Asean is Thailand, not any other country," Guan Mu said yesterday.
Speaking at the launch of the People's Daily Overseas Edition, a monthly bilingual publication, the ambassador said Chinese companies are eager to participate in the bidding for the construction of high-speed railway lines in Thailand, expected to begin in late 2013.
Mr Guan said China is confident it will be selected in the bidding for the Chiang Mai line, the first of two lines expected to be built.
Apart from being at the forefront of high-speed rail technology, Chinese companies offer a much faster construction process at a 40% lower cost compared with German or Japanese firms.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Yong Suksudprasert, president of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said at least 10 large Chinese firms have expressed interest in submitting bids.
Any investment will be in the form of a joint venture with Thai construction companies, he said.
Mr Yong said Chinese subcontractors have long had a presence here under large Thai firms.
The Airport Rail Link was partly built by Chinese firms.
Chinese investment in Thailand has increased significantly in recent years, doubling this year alone, said Mr Yong.
It goes primarily to the tourism, banking, retail and heavy industry sectors including information technology and automobiles.
"China has become the world's largest car producer and is even looking at a production base here," said Mr Yong.
Chinese companies have also been active in acquiring land for hotels in Bangkok and are now looking farther afield to Chiang Mai.
"The ties between China and Thailand are unbreakable. They include everything from culture to trade," said Mr Yong, adding that Chinese are fond of Thailand for its welcoming environment compared with Japan and the EU.
Thailand and China earlier agreed to cooperate on construction of two high-speed rail lines linking the countries following a visit by Xi Jinping, the new Communist Party chief, here at the end of last year.
Mr Guan said that during Mr Xi's visit, the two countries agreed to cooperate on four key issues including the high-speed rail lines.
Another cooperation agreed to was water management including constructions to prevent a recurrence of the severe flooding seen during last year's crisis.
Third was cooperation on renewable energy, in which China is a research leader.
Fourth covered education and human resource development, particularly student exchanges.