On May 31, the Eastern Economic Corridor Office of Thailand (EECO), the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Thailand and the Embassy of Japan in Thailand jointly held a seminar on “China-Japan Cooperation on the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand” in Bangkok. Mr. Ning Jizhe, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Uttama Savanayana, Minister of Industry of Thailand, and Mr. Shiro Sadoshima, Ambassador of Japan to Thailand addressed the seminar. Chinese Ambassador Lyu Jian, Mr. Kanit Sangsubhan, Secretary General of the EECO, as well as about 150 government and business representatives of the three countries attended the seminar.
Vice Chairman Ning Jizhe said in the speech that China and Thailand are friendly neighbors. People of the two countries are as close as family members. The bilateral relationship has maintained a momentum of vigorous development over the past 43 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, yielding fruitful results in economic cooperation and trade, science and education, people-to-people and cultural exchange and other fields. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in Thailand will be a great boost to regional economic growth, as well as the level and quality of industrial development. Leaders of China, Thailand and Japan attach great importance to trilateral cooperation on the EEC. Such kind of cooperation is of great significance and boasts broad prospect. Government agencies of the three countries should enhance policy communication, provide enterprises from the three countries with more advice and services, and encourage them to start with cooperation on specific programs, fully leverage their respective advantages, and conduct mutually beneficial cooperation.
Minister Uttama stated that Thailand is implementing the 4.0 strategy, which guides Thailand’s transformation to become an economy driven by innovation, creativity and technology. The EEC is a flagship program of Thailand 4.0. The success of the EEC depends vitally on the participation of the international community. Development strategies of Thailand, China and Japan complement one another in an unprecedented manner. When private sectors of the three countries cooperate with each other, it is contributing not only to their own development, but also the progress of other countries in Asia. The Thai side is willing to carry out close cooperation with Chinese and Japanese companies in the EEC, and will render continuous and comprehensive support to the cooperation.
Ambassador Sadoshima said that more than 5,000 Japanese companies have established their business bases in Thailand, among which, 1100 are in the EEC area, and contributed to the country’s economic development for more than three decades. The Japanese government will continue to encourage and support the business activities of Japanese companies in Thailand, including investments to projects in the EEC area. As one of these efforts, the Japanese government would like to promote cooperative relations among the private sectors of Japan, China and Thailand, and create a favorable environment to further win-win relationship.
At the seminar, Secretary General Kanit updated the attendees on the latest developments of EEC building. Business representatives from China and Japan shared their views on investment in the EEC, possible key industries and areas for trilateral cooperation. They all believe that the EEC could have a strong effect of economic agglomeration as it enjoys a location advantage. Companies of China, Japan and Thailand each has their own strength, and are able to jointly create a cooperation mode of “industry+technology+capital+market”. It is hoped that the Thai government will offer more support in preferential policy, infrastructure connectivity, human resources and other fields.
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