Interview: In 40 years, China, Thailand foster full-fledged ties: ex-Thai premier

Since China and Thailand forged diplomatic ties four decades ago, the two countries have developed a full-fledged relationship, former Thai Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun said.

The present Sino-Thai relationship encompasses fields covering politics, culture, economy, trade, and even military, Anand, who is believed to have played a vital catalytic role in the establishment of diplomatic ties between Bangkok and Beijing, recently told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

In 1972, as Thailand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Anand was instructed by the then Thai foreign minister to cultivate contacts with China and "got very good responses."

Three years later, at the end of June 1975, he led a Thai delegation to Beijing for official talks with the Chinese foreign ministry. After about one-week negotiation, the two sides managed to conclude a memorandum of understanding on the restoration of diplomatic relationship, which was signed days later.

There was much difficulty before and during the talks, Anand recalled, pointing to the unfavorable sentiment in Thailand towards the restoration and "a lot of opposition" from those who held enmity and deep suspicions towards China.

The results after forty years have been much better than anticipated, he said, stressing Thai people in particular view China in a different light now.

"I don't see any lingering enmity, suspicion, doubt or mistrust. .. China is seen as a friendly country, a country that sticks with us, a country that has offered help to us occasionally, particularly during the financial crisis in 1997," Anand commented.

The two-time prime minister also stressed the exchanges of visits between the two sides, including members of the Thai royal family.

For instance, Anand said, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn speaks Chinese, has visited China more than 30 times, and set foot on many places in China.

The former premier spoke approvingly of the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, which refers to a trade and infrastructure network including the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to connect Asia, Europe and Africa.

Development of infrastructure is very important, be it on land or on the sea, as it will bring countries in Asia closer to Europe and vice versa, Anand noted.

A new structure, which spreads east to west, connecting Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam with Myanmar and India through Thailand, and spreads from north to south, connecting the southern part of China and northern part of Thailand and down to the sea, is "a good thing" and "can be done in a cooperative manner," he said.

China and Thailand have been negotiating on the joint building of an 867-kilometer railway line to connect northeast Thailand's Nong Khai province, capital Bangkok and eastern Rayong province.

The construction of the medium-speed railway line, which will join the planned China-Laos railway, is expected to start in October.

Railway development is definitely helpful for Thailand, a country that is advantageously located in the middle of Southeast Asia and is becoming more and more a center of manufacturing, logistics, distribution and training in the region, according to Anand.

During his tenure as the Thai prime minister, Anand proposed the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), which was subsequently endorsed at the 1991 ASEAN Summit held in Singapore.

It was a decision momentous for all ASEAN countries, Anand said. "Twenty years later, it is not only ASEAN Free Trade Area. It could be ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)."

The AEC is expected to be established by the end of this year. "When we talk about ASEAN, it's only a form of structure, but the ASEAN area practically includes the southern part of China now," he stressed.

The southern part of China is becoming slowly and gradually more and more integrated into this economic interrelationship with trade, Anand added. Endi