Shaping a Shared Future: 'Our Golden Friendship: Joining Hands to Build a China-Thailand Community with a Shared Future' Media and Think Tank Forum in Thailand

BEIJING, Jan. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China Report ASEAN:

As part of events marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Thailand, a forum themed "Our Golden Friendship: Joining Hands to Build a China-Thailand Community with a Shared Future" was held in Bangkok on January 17, aiming to deepen mutual trust and enhance exchange between Chinese and Thai media and think tanks.

Under the auspices of China International Communications Group (CICG), the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, and the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Yunnan Provincial Committee, the forum was co-organized by Asia-Pacific Think Tank and CICG Center for Asia-Pacific. The Thai Journalists Association and several other organizations provided support to the event. Distinguished guests including Phinij Jarusombat, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Gao Anming, editor-in-chief of CICG, Li Jijuan, counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, and Gen. Surasit Thanadtang, senior adviser of Asia-Pacific Think Tank and director of the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Center, attended and delivered speeches. Zhao Jun, editor-in-chief of CICG Center for Asia-Pacific served as the moderator.

Phinij Jarusombat hailed the theme "Golden Friendship" as a wonderful way to describe Thai-Chinese ties, which are vital to promoting development of both nations. Thailand-China friendship has set an example of relations between countries seeking lasting peace and common prosperity, he remarked. Deepened cooperation in all fields and at all levels has fueled steady progress in building a Thailand-China community with a shared future. Both countries must cherish the hard-won friendship and make joint efforts to lift bilateral relations to new heights. Media and think tanks will play a greater role in promoting people-to-people exchange and expanding cooperation between the two countries.

Gao Anming said that as vital platforms for communicating information and shaping public opinion, the media and think tanks play an irreplaceable role in facilitating connectivity between the two countries. He said that both countries should increase media collaboration and cooperation to seek greater achievements, strengthen think tank exchange to foster greater experience sharing, and enhance understanding and mutual trust among youth to promote closer ties. He advocated forging diversified, multi-dimensional communication matrices involving media and think tanks to effectively improve both nations' international communication capacity and demonstrate fruitful outcomes and huge potential of China-Thailand cooperation to the international community.

China and Thailand are good neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, close relatives with blood ties, and partners sharing a common destiny, remarked Li Jijuan. The concept of "China and Thailand as one family" has gained vast popularity among people of both countries. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand, which brings new opportunities and favorable conditions in various fields. Li expressed hope that Chinese and Thai media and think tanks would enhance exchange and mutual learning and disseminate more positive energy for China-Thailand friendship to consolidate foundation of public opinion for deepening mutual understanding between the two peoples and propel the two countries to make steady advances toward the goal of building a China-Thailand community with a shared future.

Thailand and China share close ties in history, culture, trade, and tourism, said Gen. Surasit Thanadtang. Humanistic exchange provides important channels for fostering people-to-people ties and serves as a cornerstone of the profound friendship between the two countries. He hopes that media and think tank professionals from both countries will work together to advance the construction of a Thailand-China community with a shared future, deliver more fruitful results in Lancang-Mekong cooperation, and write a new chapter of Thai-Chinese friendship.

During a roundtable discussion, media and think tank experts from both countries exchanged views on two themes: "Joining Hands to Promote Modernization and Build a Thailand-China Community with a Shared Future" and "Advancing High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation and Enriching the Connotation of 'China and Thailand as a Family' in the New Era."

Li Shaoming, deputy editor-in-chief of Yunnan Daily Group, called for closer cooperation between Chinese and Thai media organizations to boost friendly ties between the two countries at a new start in history and contribute to the construction of a China-Thailand community with a shared future. Media organizations from both countries should forge consensus on cooperation, improve cooperation mechanisms, and set targets for cooperation to help elevate China-Thailand ties to a new level.

Ma Yonghong, director of the Publicity Department of China Railway Kunming Group, called the China-Laos Railway, which opened in December 2021, a shared path to prosperity for Chinese and Lao people. He said that the cross-border railway has also sparked construction of a golden rail link connecting China, Laos, and Thailand. When the China-Thailand Railway is completed, it will shorten the geographical distance between China and Thailand and promote bilateral cooperation in tourism, trade, culture, and other fields. The "hard connectivity" of infrastructure will enhance heart-to-heart connectivity.

Mongkol Bangprapa, former president of the Thai Journalists Association, highlighted the media's role in disseminating information and facilitating connectivity. Media organizations from both countries should increase exchange, clarify fallacies, and present comprehensive, objective, and true information through professional and timely reports to help people on both sides enhance understanding, deepen mutual trust, and expand exchange and cooperation, he stressed.

Expanded economic cooperation between Thailand and China has created new opportunities for tourism, said Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents. Since the introduction of a mutual visa-exemption policy, in particular, tourism has seen exponential growth. He expressed hope that Chinese and Thai media would continue to deliver objective and genuine information to rebuild the confidence of Chinese tourists to travel to Thailand and promote the industrial upgrading and innovative development of Thailand's tourism industry.

More than 100 people attended the event including a vice chairman of the Thai-Chinese Culture Promotion Committee, Da Hongjuan, director of Thai Government Affairs of GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd., Han Zhaoying, library director and professor at the Zhou Enlai School of Government of Nankai University, Lu Di, professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Peking University, Peng Yunfeng, deputy director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, and Chen Weiwen, advisor at the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Center.

SOURCE China Report ASEAN