Joint Press Statementon Long-Term Program on the Development of Thailand – China Relations

issued on the Occasion of the Official Visit to Thailand

of His Excellency Mr. Li Keqiang,

Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China

At the invitation of Her Excellency Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of the Kingdom of Thailand, His Excellency Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Thailand from 11 to 13 October 2013.

During the visit, Premier Li Keqiang had an audience with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and met with His Excellency General Prem Tinsulanonda, President of the Privy Council.  Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in which the two sides exchanged views and reached common ground on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. Premier Li Keqiang also met with His Excellency Mr. Somsak Kiartsuranon, President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives, and His Excellency Mr. Nikom Wairatpanij, Vice President of the National Assembly and President of the Senate of Thailand.  The two sides were satisfied with the outcome of the visit, and believed that the visit was a milestone in the long-standing efforts to further deepen the Thailand – China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. The two sides decided to state the following:

1. The two sides expressed their satisfaction with the current state of bilateral relations and the progress made in cooperation in various areas.  The two sides shared the view that since the establishment of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in 2012, Thailand-China relations have entered a new stage of development with greater potential and broader prospects for future cooperation, transcending bilateral issues and creating new opportunities for strategic cooperation at the regional and global levels.  The two sides agreed to promote pragmatic cooperation in various fields that would benefit their two peoples as well as contribute to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity.  In this regard, the two sides decided to further develop Thailand – China relations and enhance cooperation as follows:

POLITICAL ISSUES
2. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and objectives of the UN Charter, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, as well as mutual support on major issues in areas of common interest.  Thailand reaffirmed its adherence to the One China policy, and its full support for the peaceful development of Cross-Strait relations and the peaceful reunification of China. China reaffirmed its respect and support for Thailand’s efforts to safeguard national unity and territorial integrity in order to achieve political stability, economic development and improvement of people’s livelihood.
3.  The two sides undertook to be guided by the Joint Statement between the Kingdom of Thailand and the People’s Republic of China on Establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership issued on 19 April 2012, and would take concrete measures to implement the Joint Action Plan on Thailand – China Strategic Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Sustainable Development in Thailand, as well as advancing pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

ECONOMY, TRADE, INVESTMENT AND FINANCE
4. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation and communication, and promote the facilitation and growth of bilateral trade and investment through mechanisms such as the China-Thailand Joint Committee on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation.
5. The two sides reaffirmed their desire to achieve bilateral trade target of 100 billion USD in 2015. As a consequence, the two sides agreed that their trade and economic partnership shall continue to be guided by the Five-Year Development Plan on Trade and Economic Cooperation which will strengthen economic and trade ties towards the sustainable economic development of both Countries.
6. The two sides also agreed to improve the bilateral investment environment by enhancing exchange of investment information and creating favourable investment conditions.
7. The two sides agreed to enhance closer cooperation on industry and investment on rubber industry, bio-plastic industry and green industry. Both sides also agreed to jointly exchange practices and experiences on environmental management, green supply chain management and eco-town for sustainable development.
8. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture through the development of cooperatives, processing and trade of agricultural products, investment in agricultural enterprises and agricultural policy coordination under the relevant mechanisms.
9. The two sides agreed to deepen finance and banking cooperation, promote the use of their respective currencies in the settlement of bilateral trade and investment, completing relevant cooperation mechanisms, as well as facilitating bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation. The two sides would jointly discuss the provision of more convenient RMB clearing service.

DEFENCE AND SECURITY
10. The two sides agreed to enhance military exchanges and mutual visits through annual defence and security consultations between the two Ministries of Defence, strengthening joint military exercises and training on combating non-traditional security threats, and expanding cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, science and technology as well as defence industry.
11. The two sides agreed to deepen security and law enforcement cooperation in order to strengthen efforts to prevent and counter terrorism, trafficking of narcotic drugs, human trafficking, illegal migration, telecom scams, money laundering, cyber crime and other criminal activities of mutual concern, as well as promoting institution building for law enforcement and security on the Mekong River.  The two sides also agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the area of cyber security.

TRANSPORTATION AND CONNECTIVITY
12. The two sides agreed to promote the transport infrastructure connectivity by linking the railway network through Lao PDR/ Myanmar and connecting roads, ports and airports in order to facilitate the movement of goods and people and to promote trade and tourism in the region.
13. The Chinese side expressed its interest to participate in the project to build a high speed rail system between Nong Kai and Ban Pachi, with partial payment to be made in the form of agricultural products.
14. In this connection, the Thai side welcomed the interest shown by the Chinese side and will enter into discussion on the matter with the Chinese side in due course on the basis of the Memorandum of  Understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Governmental Cooperation Project on the Railway Infrastructure Development in Thailand in Exchange of  Agricultural Products from Thailand signed on 11 October 2013.

CULTURE, EDUCATION AND TOURISM
15. The two sides agreed to actively implement the Executive Programme for Cultural Cooperation between the two Ministries of Culture in order to further promote the Chinese and Thai arts and culture in each country.  The Chinese side would support the establishment of a Thai Culture Centre in Beijing and provide the necessary assistance for its construction.  The Thai side reaffirmed its support for the Chinese Culture Centre in Bangkok.  The two sides also agreed to strengthen exchanges in the field of films and television, including cooperation in the production of films and television series. The two sides encouraged the exchanges and cooperation in the areas of literature and each country’s language. They also encouraged their own publishing institutions to take part in international book exhibition hosted by the other country.
16. The two sides agreed to effectively implement bilateral agreements on education cooperation and mutual recognition of diplomas and degrees issued by centres of higher learning, as well as deepen cooperation in education and research between government agencies, educational institutions and private sector of each country.  The two sides also welcomed the establishment of new Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in Thailand.  The two sides agreed to increase overseas student exchanges, expand cooperation on human resources development and enhancing cooperation in vocational training.
17. The two sides are willing to negotiate and sign an MOU on mutual exemption of visas for holders of regular passports to facilitate people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
18. The two sides wished to expand the scale of two-way tourism by encouraging more tourists to pay visits to each other’s country and enhancing the quality of tourism products, including providing better service and facilitation to tourists and earnestly safeguarding the interest of tourists.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
19. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchange and cooperation to forge closer ties in the field of science and technology innovation in order to build innovative and knowledge-based societies under the framework of the China-Thailand Joint Committee on Science and Technology.
20. The two sides agreed to actively promote the establishment of joint laboratories and research centres in key areas of common interest, to be carried out by scientific research institutions, universities and enterprises of the two countries, in order to carry out high-level joint research and boost long-term and sustainable cooperation.  The two sides also agreed to enhance personnel exchanges and training, including implementing exchanges between young scientists, and encouraging and supporting young scientists to work on a short-term basis in each other’s country.
21. The two sides actively supported the construction of the China-ASEAN technology transfer centre.  The two sides also agreed to promote technology transfer between China and Thailand in order to spur the improvement of regional technological competence.
22. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in high technology, promote the establishment of cooperation platforms, deepen economic and trade cooperation among enterprises in such areas as mobile communications and high-speed Internet, and boost project cooperation in such areas as aviation, aerospace, satellite technology and its application, and bio-medicine.  The two sides also agreed to actively expand bilateral cooperation in space technology and its applied fields, as well as improve the platform for sharing data and services of remote sensing satellites.

ENERGY
23. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the following energy areas: (1) Fossil Fuels (oil, gas and coal) development and utilization; (2) Electricity Generations, Trade and Infrastructure Development; (3) Renewable, Alternative and Clean Energy Development; and (4) Energy Efficiency and Conservations. This will promote the energy security, green growth and sustainable development between the two countries.

OCEAN
24. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in oceanic and polar scientific surveys, support the operation and development of the China-Thailand Joint Laboratory on Climate and Marine Ecosystem in Phuket, Thailand, support the construction of oceanic environment surveying and forecasting systems for the South China Sea and Andaman Sea, carry out project cooperation in such areas as research on endangered ocean species, as well as support the Five-Year Plan for China-Thailand Marine Cooperation by State Oceanic Administration, China and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand (2014-2018). The Chinese side welcomed Thai personnel to participate in scientific surveys and research in the South Pole.

REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
25. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen strategic coordination and communications, as well as enhancing mutual cooperation and support on regional and international affairs to promote peace, stability and prosperity of the region.
26. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to promoting regional cooperation to address common security issues, particularly in the field of non-traditional security threats, within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).
27. The Chinese side appreciated Thailand’s active contribution as the country coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations.  Both sides reiterated their commitment, on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership, to cooperate closely to promote mutual trust and confidence between ASEAN and China and deepen cooperation in various fields, including jointly upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Agreement, and effectively utilizing the ASEAN-China Maritime Cooperation Fund to expand maritime cooperation, so as to further enhance the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership. Thailand noted with appreciation China’s proposal of setting up Asia infrastructure investment bank.
28. The two sides agreed to deepen cooperation under ASEAN-led regional frameworks, particularly the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in order to promote East Asia integration process.  The two sides agreed to jointly push forward cooperation on the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) mechanism and ASEAN Plus Three Partnership on Connectivity.  The two sides looked forward to successful implementation of the Phnom Penh Declaration on the EAS Development Initiative.
29. The Chinese side expressed its support for Thailand’s initiative to host the International Conference on Sustainable Development of Lancang-Mekong River Sub-region.
30. The Chinese side reaffirmed its continued support for the development of ASEAN, the realisation of ASEAN Community and ASEAN’s post 2015 agenda, as well as ASEAN’s leading role in East Asia cooperation.
31. The two sides shared the view that the South China Sea issues should be resolved peacefully by the sovereign states directly concerned through direct and friendly consultations and negotiations on the basis of international law. Pending a thorough solution to the related disputes, the states concerned should “put aside the differences and seek possibility of undertaking joint development.”  The two sides agreed to work closely together to promote the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), push forward the consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) on the basis of consensus, so as to turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.
32. The two sides agreed to further strengthen coordination and cooperation under the frameworks of the United Nations, World Trade Organization (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and other regional and international mechanisms.

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13 October 2013