On the morning of November 15, 2024 local time, President Xi Jinping met with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima.
Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Thailand are close and friendly neighbors, with the familial bond between the Chinese and the Thai people gaining renewed vitality. He recalled his visit to Thailand in November 2022, during which he reached important common understandings with Thai leaders on building a China-Thailand community with a shared future. He was delighted to see the outcomes of the visit being effectively implemented, with bilateral cooperation making positive progress across various fields and bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.
Xi Jinping noted that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Thailand diplomatic relations and the “Golden Year of Friendship”. China is ready to work with Thailand to carry forward their traditional friendship, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, deepen exchanges on governance experience, coordinate and advance mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, support the modernization drives of both countries, and push for greater progress in building a China-Thailand community with a shared future. The two sides should accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand Railway, expand cooperation in emerging fields such as new energy, digital economy and artificial intelligence, enhance cultural, educational, youth and other people-to-people exchanges, and organize such events as the enshrinement of the Buddha tooth relic in Thailand, to ensure that the China-Thailand friendship will be deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples and be passed on from generation to generation. China is ready to strengthen coordination and communication with Thailand within multilateral mechanisms such as the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, ASEAN, BRICS, and APEC to safeguard the unity and cooperation of ASEAN and regional countries and make positive contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra said that the world and the region are currently witnessing increasing and widespread turmoil. The series of global initiatives put forward by China are strategically forward-looking and conducive to strengthening solidarity and cooperation in the international community. She said, China is Thailand's good friend and good partner, and Thailand admires China's remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation and other areas. Thailand looks forward to taking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the Golden 50-Year of Friendship between the two countries as an opportunity to enhance high-level exchanges with China, with a view to jointly charting an even brighter future for Thailand-China relations in the next 50 years. Thailand hopes to learn from China's successful development experience, continue to advance cooperation on the Belt and Road cooperation such as the Thailand-China Railway, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and deepen traditional friendship. Thailand stands ready to strengthen collaboration with China within multilateral frameworks such as APEC and jointly safeguard the free trade system.
Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, attended the meeting.
