李强同泰国总理共同出席中泰企业家座谈会

CCTV News (Xinwen Lianbo): On November 14, Premier Li Qiang and Thai Prime Minister Anutin jointly attended a China-Thailand entrepreneurs' symposium in Bangkok.

After hearing remarks by business representatives from both countries, Li Qiang said China and Thailand are working together to open a new golden 50 years in bilateral relations, with more new opportunities for economic and trade cooperation. First is the stabilizing effect of their high mutual trust and friendship. In today's world of intertwined turmoil and change, "stability" has become a scarce resource. Bilateral relations and cooperation are highly stable: the two countries' leaders maintain close and good communication, and their peoples enjoy close personal and cultural ties, providing a stable and predictable environment for enterprises to increase investment and undertake long-term planning. Second is the convergence effect of increasingly strong connectivity. Construction of the China-Thailand Railway is progressing steadily, the Pinglu Canal has officially opened to navigation, and "soft connectivity" in economic and trade rules, standards and finance continues to strengthen. All of this enables smoother links between their markets and helps more enterprises generate greater economic benefits. Third is the empowering effect of flourishing innovation cooperation. Bilateral economic and trade cooperation is expanding from traditional sectors into high-tech and cutting-edge fields, with new business models and sectors continually emerging. Now is the right time to complement each other's strengths and expand innovation cooperation.

Li Qiang noted that Chinese and Thai enterprises should follow broader trends, seize opportunities and continually improve and upgrade cooperation. They should upgrade from "dining tables and taste buds" to "digital intelligence and green development," expand traditional agricultural and food trade, advance agricultural modernization in both countries, and cooperate in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, clean energy and biomedicine to jointly strengthen new drivers of development. They should upgrade from "production cooperation" to "industrial coordination," strengthen complementary and interlocking industrial and supply chains, align and mutually recognize industry standards, and enhance competitiveness together through more efficient coordination, moving upstream in global value chains. China encourages Chinese-invested enterprises to conduct more localized operations in Thailand. They should upgrade from "a bilateral footing" to "a regional reach," leverage Thailand's geographical advantages and policy benefits such as the entry into force of the protocol upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to Version 3.0, and cooperate more broadly in third-party markets worldwide to achieve better bilateral and multilateral benefits. The Chinese and Thai governments will actively strive to provide a favorable business environment for enterprises, encouraging them to establish deep local roots and develop over the long term. He also expressed hope that entrepreneurs would serve as ambassadors of friendship, making bilateral relations even closer and better.

Anutin said China is Thailand's most important trading partner. Thailand hopes to seize opportunities in technological development, draw on both sides' respective strengths and achieve higher-quality cooperation, growing from simple trading partners into long-term partners in shared development and mutual success, and further expanding cooperation in electric vehicles, agriculture, investment and connectivity. Thailand will adopt more policy measures to provide favorable conditions for Chinese enterprises' long-term operations and development, combat transnational crime and safeguard investors' rights and interests. He expressed confidence that the "Thailand-China family" would deliver more tangible results for both peoples.

Business representatives from both countries described their cooperation and achievements and offered specific suggestions. They expressed full confidence in China-Thailand friendship and willingness to strengthen cooperation, supporting development and prosperity in both countries with more practical outcomes.