Thailand will be honoured to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping for the Apec Summit 2022 in Bangkok later this month, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said during his address at the Thailand-China Investment Forum in Bangkok yesterday.
President Xi's expected participation in the summit signifies the two countries' close economic, trade and investment relationship, as well as their commitment to jointly build an environment conducive to economic growth and stability, said Gen Prayut.
The Thai-Chinese economic forum is being jointly organised for the first time by the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Chinese embassy in Thailand.
The two countries will work side by side to implement their joint development projects and fight new challenges together in the future, the premier said.
The forum is part of Thailand's efforts to scale up economic collaboration with China to help revive the economy as the Covid-19 pandemic eases, said Gen Prayut.
The kingdom has been implementing economic stimulus policies through the promotion of trade, investment, economic recovery, tourism, and service industries. This has led to a massive expansion in spending by foreign investors in Thailand this year, he said.
China is one of Thailand's most important trade and investment partners, he added. Thanks to their close cooperation and partnership, the two countries have successfully weathered the impact of the pandemic, he noted.
Thailand has been supporting China's role in the Global Development Initiative (GDI), which is in line with Thailand's bio-circular-green economic model, Gen Prayut said.
The GDI, announced by Mr Xi last year, is seen as a promising response to help the world recover from setbacks and accelerate the achievement of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals worldwide. Moreover, the implementation of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor scheme complements China's Belt and Road Initiative, he said.
Thailand's new five-year strategic plan for investment promotion aims to attract new investors to the kingdom, Gen Prayut said.
