On 16 September 2014, General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the 11th Annual China – ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) at Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center, People’s Republic of China.

During the opening ceremony, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered the opening remarks along with the leaders from the ASEAN countries and China consisted of the Prime Minister of Singapore, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, Vice President of Myanmar, Vice President of Laos and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed that Thailand, as a country coordinator for the ASEAN – China Dialogue Relations, is ready to work with both sides to strengthen the Strategic Partnership between ASEAN – China in every aspect. On this occasion, Thailand is delighted to see the commitment of the Prime Minister of China on establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Maritime Silk Road, which will promote the development of regional connectivity.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs also said that ASEAN is committed to increase the bilateral trade with China to be 400 billion US dollars in 2015 and 1 trillion US dollars within 2020. Moreover, both ASEAN and China are ready to exchange on the people-to-people level as a basis for the long-term partnership.

On this occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs presided over the opening on the Thai Pavilion in the Convention and Exhibition Center. More than 122 Thai companies have attended the Expo including the Food processing companies, jewelry, Thai herbs, etc. The Expo also opened a forum for the Thai businesspersons to meet up with the business sectors from other countries.