Thai PM tests ride China's high speed train before returning home

BEIJING, December 23 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minster General Prayut Chan-ocha has taken a 20-minute test ride of China’s high-speed train from southern Beijing to Tianjin. Prime Minister General Prayut tested ride the high-speed train on the 120-kilometer route on Tuesday morning (local time), as part of his scheduled activities on the last day of his two-day official visit to the immense Chinese economy. The test ride followed his visit to China’s national railway control center in the Chinese capital, where he also observed how high speed passenger and cargo train services are separately-handled. Late last week, Bangkok and Beijing signed an agreement on cooperation on China's construction of dual rail tracks in Thailand, as part of expanding connectivity in the region. The Thai prime minister was set to meet executives of Huawei, a leading Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) service provider, and to pay courtesy calls on Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People's Congress Zhang De Jiang and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday afternoon (local time). Accompanied by his entourage, including his wife, Naraporn Chan-ocha, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister General Thanasak Patimaprakorn and Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul, the Thai prime minister is scheduled to return home later in the day, ending his official visit to China, set from December 22-23. (TNA)