Thailand, China to open "fast lane" for personnel exchange amid COVID-19
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok, Thailand, Oct. 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
Thailand and China have agreed to open the "fast lane" for personnel exchange and the "green channel" for goods exchange between the two countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two sides reached the agreement on Thursday in the meeting between Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
At the meeting, Prayut said Thailand is very grateful for China's support and help in its fight against COVID-19. Thailand appreciates China's announcement that if it succeeds in COVID-19 vaccine research and development, China will make it a global public good, and Thailand hopes to enhance cooperation on vaccine research with China, he said.
Thailand and China should formulate plans together for their post COVID-19 cooperation, and push forward the Thailand-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to further development.
Prayut said Thailand hopes to strengthen trade and technology innovation cooperation with China, and expects more Chinese enterprises to invest in Thailand. He promised to provide an open, fair and transparent business environment for Chinese enterprises.
Thailand supports a deep docking of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the speed-up of interconnectivity, he added.
The prime minister said Thailand firmly supports the one-China principle, and is willing to actively participate in the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE).
For his part, Wang Yi said that the mutually beneficial cooperation of China and Thailand has successfully withstood the COVID-19 epidemic and achieved growth against the trend. This has demonstrated the strong strength and bright prospect of bilateral cooperation.
China will enhance strategic communication with the Thai side to promote the bilateral relations to develop further in the post-epidemic era, Wang said, adding that the two sides should strengthen COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, promote the docking and complementation of the EEC and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, build new highlights of the Belt and Road and new platforms for interconnectivity.
China continues to encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Thailand, and expand cooperation in new economies and new businesses such as digital economy, he said. China welcomes the Thai side to actively participate in the upcoming CIIE.
Wang hopes China and Thailand could jointly uphold multilateralism, safeguard the basic norms of international relations, promote the formulation of the Post-2020 Vision of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and together build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.
Wang arrived in the Thai capital on late Wednesday, the last leg of his Southeast Asia tour, which has also taken him to Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos.
