Chinese ambassador Han Zhiqiang on Monday expressed confidence that China's Belt and Road Initiative would promote mutual growth and bring benefits to Thailand and China.
Delivering a keynote speech at a seminar on "Contemporary China with the World: An exchange of a new generation between Thailand and China", the ambassador said the Belt and Road Initiative, which was intended to promote joint development, played a role in guiding and advancing bilateral relations and created a new open and inclusive system for development.
The seminar was held at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University. It was organised by the One Belt One Road research centre, Chandrakasem Rajabhat University, the Thai-Chinese Culture Council, and the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Centre, among others.
The ambassador discussed how Thailand's 20-year strategic plan and Thailand 4.0 policy with a focus on the Bio-Circular-Green Economic Model (BCG) was in accordance with China's Belt and Road Initiative and how both countries had comprehensive development policies.
He said the Chinese-Thai rail development project, the second phase of which is scheduled to begin in 2024 before completion in 2028, is a symbol of cooperation in connectivity and infrastructure development.
Once completed, it would inject vitality into economic development and help lower the cost of transporting goods between Thailand, Laos and China.
Promoting bilateral trade is s also essential to making the Belt and Road Initiative beneficial to the people of both countries, according to the Chinese ambassador.
China invested in 158 projects in 2022, making it the largest foreign investor in Thailand, while the Rayong Thai-Chinese industrial estate attracted more than 180 Chinses firms and created more than 45,000 jobs.
People-to-people connection has also laid strong foundations for cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, said the ambassador as he discussed the two countries' cooperation in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.