Sino-Thai trade targeted to increase double in 2021

BANGKOK, August 17 (TNA) - Thailand and China plan to increase their bilateral trade double by 2021, in parallel with enhancing bilateral cooperation in many other areas. Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong told journalists on Friday that the issues will be discussed during the upcoming Thailand-China Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation (JC), the 6th of its kind, to be held at Bangkok's Government House on August 24. Sontirat acknowledged that China is now Thailand's number one trading partner and largest market for both Thai exports and imports, while Thailand is China's 15th export market and 10th import market, and both sides will discuss a target on boosting their two-way trade by double, or to about 140 billion US dollars over the next three years, at next week's Thailand-China JC Meeting. Based on official statistics, bilateral trade between China and Thailand exceeded 73.67 billion US dollars in 2017, a 11.9 per cent year-on-year increase, and stood about 39.40 billion US dollars during the first half of this year, a 12.97 per cent year-on-year increase, with major Thai exports to the immense Chinese market including natural rubber, rubber products, plastic pellets, computer sets and accessories and chemical products and major imports from China including electric machineries and accessories, machines and accessories, electric household appliances, chemical products and automobile parts. According to the minister, both sides will also discuss on further enhancing the Sino-Thai cooperation in many other areas, namely joint projects on the infrastructure, agricultural, science and technology, digital, innovations, tourism, financial, and human resource development. The minister stated that the Chinese and the Thai sides will also focus on strengthening the Sino-Thai economic partnership, especially in the Belt and Road Initiative, the Thailand 4.0 Policy and the Thai government-supported Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Project. On the occasion, the minister said, the over-300 member-Chinese delegation will also participate in the "Thailand–China Business Forum 2018", to be organized by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), under the Ministry of Industry, and in a business matching event to be organized by his ministry's Department of International Trade Promotion. Besides, the Chinese business delegates will visit the Thai government-supported EEC Project on August 25 when they will observe the readiness of the EEC and talk about their investment opportunities there. (TNA)