Thai PM is in China, calls for regional connectivity

BANGKOK, September 3 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has arrived in China's Nanning City to attend the 10th China-ASEAN Expo, during which she has called on China, Laos and Thailand to speed up their high-speed rail network to benefit people in the region. Yingluck made the call in her speech during the opening of the 10th China-ASEAN EXPO on Tuesday morning (local time). Yingluck pointed out that China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Thailand is a member country, have planned collective growth and sealed a free trade agreement (FTA), leading to China's having become ASEAN's biggest trading partner since 2011. The Thai premier also said the 10th China-ASEAN EXPO reflects close cooperation between China and ASEAN. Hundreds of Thai business operators attend the two-day China-ASEAN EXPO and they are among the biggest groups of ASEAN business operators participating in the exposition. Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi told journalists that the Thai prime minister has met representatives of the Chinese public and private sectors in Nanning to convince them to support Thai farm products, especially natural rubber. According to the spokesman, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang expressed his interest in Thai natural rubber, as China needs rubber for its industrial products, and assigned Chinese private business operators to discuss the rubber imports from Thailand. The spokesman revealed that the Thai prime minister also invited Chinese investors to participate in Thailand's Rubber City Project, as China has advance technologies for natural rubber processing and her Chinese counterpart accepted the invitation, as he foresaw mutual benefits from the project. (TNA)