On 17 July 2019, Mr. Pitchayaphant Charnbhumidol, Director-General of  the Department of East Asian Affairs and Mr. Shi Donglong, Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, co-chaired the 3^rd Meeting of Thailand-Guangxi Working Group in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the People’s Republic of China. The Meeting was attended by representatives from Thai concerned agencies, the Royal Thai Consulate in Nanning and Team Thailand (Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Office of the Board of Investment and Tourism Authority of Thailand) together with representatives from concerned authorities of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

 

      The Meeting discussed cooperation in economic, trade, investment, promotion of connectivity by land, sea and air,  education, finance, science, technology and innovation, and people-to-people cooperation. The Meeting followed up the implementation of  the 2^nd Working Group Meeting hosted by Thailand in 2017 and discussed ways to enhance cooperation between Thailand-Guangxi, Thailand-China and ASEAN-China by highlighting potential areas of cooperation to produce tangible and sustainable results as well as to promote friendship and understanding between the peoples of both sides. 

 

      The Meeting underlined the significance of the year 2019 to Thailand and China, in particular in light of the domestic developments in each country and Thailand’s Chairmanship of ASEAN, which will provide new opportunities for cooperation between Thailand and Guangxi. Guangxi could serve as China’s gateway to ASEAN while ASEAN is the centre for the promotion of cooperation in connectivity between ASEAN and Guangxi.  

 

      On Economic, Trade and Investment: Both sides agreed to promote and facilitate  trade, especially in the import of agricultural and fruit products from Thailand to Guangxi market, which will help realise the targeted trade goal of USD 140 billion between Thailand and China by 2021. Thailand promotes targeted industries to link production chains between Thailand and Guangxi in automobile and automobile parts, next-generation automobile, sugar industry, health industry, and advanced information technology. The Guangxi side appreciated Thailand’s continued support in organising  the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and stands ready to work closely and facilitate the participation of Thai entrepreneurs in the 16^th CAEXPO in September 2019. 

 

      On Connectivity: Both sides agreed to support one another in road, rail, sea, and air transportation as well as sea-rail combined transportation. Thailand encouraged Guangxi to make full use of the sister ports between Laem Chabang Port and Qinzhou Port, which will help to enhance the role of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and connectivity between the EEC and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), with an aim to link China with the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and ASEAN countries in line with Thailand and ASEAN’s “Connecting the Connectivities” approach. 

 

      On People-to-people Cooperation: Both sides agreed to expand education cooperation to include vocational education, support collaboration among educational institutions that are beneficial to national development, development of  smart cities and smart ports, promote the application of local currencies and cooperation in the fields of science, technology and innovation, tourism, culture, and sister cities relationship between Thailand and Guangxi. In addition, the Guangxi side expressed its readiness to share experiences in poverty alleviation to support Thailand’s sustainable development. 

 

      The Meeting was successfully concluded. Both sides candidly exchanged views and information in an amicable atmosphere to advance cooperation. The Thailand-Guangxi Working Group was established in 2015 to promote cooperation and resolve impediments in Thailand-Guangxi relations. The Working Group is held biennially and co-chaired by the Director-General of the Department of the East Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and the Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangxi. Thailand will host the 4^th Working Group in 2021.