On 24 July 2016, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of People’s Republic of China, on the sideline of the 49thASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Related Meetings in Vientiane.

In a friendly atmosphere, both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations by promoting more exchange of high - level visits. The Thai side confirmed participation in the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in September 2016, in capacity of Chair of G77, and the Chinese side agreed to depute a high – level representative to the 2nd ACD Summit to be hosted by Thailand in October 2016. The Chinese side also reaffirmed its commitment to realizing the rail cooperation, which would help improve regional connectivity.

Both sides also discussed the issue of South China Sea, with the Chinese Foreign Minister expressing China’s desire to work with ASEAN to resolve the issue amicably in viewof the close neighbourly relations. The Thai side would like to see all concerned parties exercise restraint and negotiate to find a peaceful solution, particularly, the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and expedite the conclusion on the negotiation of the Code of Conduct (COC) to create an atmosphere conducive to mutually beneficial cooperation and make the South China Sea a sea of peace, stability and sustainable development.

In addition, the Chinese side also expressed readiness to speed up the negotiation process on COC through the Joint Working Group and Senior Officials’ Meeting on DOC and implement early harvest measures, especially, the compliance with the Code for Unplanned Encounters at sea (CUES) in the South China Sea and establishment of MFA Hotline between senior officials of ASEAN and China in order to build trust and prevent confrontations, progress of which would be reported by China at the ASEAN-China Commemorative Summit to celebrate the 25thAnniversary of ASEAN – China relations in September 2016 in Vientiane.