1.       The 3^rd Thailand – China Strategic Dialogue was held on 30 March 2017 in Phuket, Thailand. The Meeting was co-chaired by Mrs. Busaya Mathelin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

2.       The Meeting took note with satisfaction the progress of cooperation made since the 2^nd Strategic Dialogue Meeting in July 2014 in Beijing, China, particularly the celebrations of the 40^th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and China during 2015 – 2016 and increased number of exchange of visits, and encouraged further exchanges of visit at all levels.

3.       The Meeting welcomed the convening of the 3^rd Meeting, which was timely, as the bilateral ties between Thailand and China had been steadily moving into the 5^th decade with concrete and substantial developments, serving as a strong foundation for further cooperation. In this regard, the Meeting discussed on the draft of the 3^rd Joint Action Plan on Thailand – China Strategic Cooperation (2017 – 2021), which would provide guidance and help elevate the strategic cooperation between Thailand and China to a higher ground.

4.       The Meeting was updated of latest development policies in each country, particularly Thailand 4.0 and Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) of Thailand, as well as Made in China 2025 and One Belt One Road (OBOR) of China. It was agreed that the peace and stability, as well as developments in both countries were keys to their mutual benefits, as well as to the region as a whole. Both sides also agreed that their respective development strategies could be complementary, and, in this regard, expressed readiness to synergize each other’s efforts to overcome the middle-income trap, bring about prosperity, and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

5.       The Meeting discussed in details a wide range of bilateral cooperation between Thailand and China, including political and security, trade and economic cooperation, social and cultural cooperation, as well as ways to intensify the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of both sides.

5.1 On political and security cooperation, the Chinese side respects national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Thailand, while the Thai side firmly upholds the One China Policy. Both sides reiterated the importance of Thailand – China Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and agreed to further promote dialogue and cooperation among the authorities concerned on both traditional and non-traditional security challenges, such as transnational crimes, terrorism, cyber security, and maritime security, through exchanges of views and experiences as well as sharing of information.

5.2 On trade and economic cooperation, the Meeting took note of the efforts under the Five-Year Development Plan on Trade and Economic Cooperation which was extended at the 5th Thailand - China Joint Committee on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation on 9 December 2016 in Beijing. Both sides further exchanged views on how to promote cooperation in trade and investment, connectivity through infrastructure developments, STI, energy, as well as cooperation at provincial level. It was suggested that greater economic potentials could be enhanced by practically utilizing provincial-level mechanisms between the two countries. In this regard, the Meeting took note of Thailand’s plan to host 3 working group meetings this year between Thailand and provincial governments of China, namely Yunnan Province, Guangdong Province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

5.3 On social and cultural cooperation, the two sides emphasized the promotion of people-to-people linkage through deepening cooperation on education, culture and tourism. The Meeting also welcomed Thailand’s proposal to host the 22^nd Sino-Thai Joint Committee on Scientific and Technical Cooperation this year.

6.       The Meeting extensively deliberated on regional and international issues of common interest, such as ASEAN – China Strategic Partnership (including RCEP and ASEAN – China FTA), regional connectivity, maritime cooperation, some specific regional situations, as well as roles of major powers in the region. The Meeting also recognized the complementarity of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025. In this regard, the constructive role of Mekong – Lancang Cooperation (MLC) that could contribute to such efforts was also highlighted.

7.       The Meeting exchanged views on the South China Sea issue and underscored the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and security in the South China Sea. China and ASEAN Member States would cooperate to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety, as well as accelerate consultations to ensure the early adoption of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) based on consensus.

8.       The Meeting took note of the positive developments with regard to the regional maritime cooperation and viewed that enhancing joint efforts on marine environmental protection and scientific research could be an initial step towards realizing Thailand’s proposal on Sea of Peace, Stability, and Sustainable Development. In this connection, China’s continued support for the Thailand – China Joint Laboratory for Climate and Marine Ecosystem in Phuket was very much welcomed.

9.       The Meeting took note that China would host the 4^th Strategic Dialogue at a mutually convenient date.