Chinese President Hu Jintao, on a state visit to Thailand, offered a five-point proposal to boost Sino-Thai relations in Bangkok Saturday during a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
He told Thaksin that the new generation of Chinese leadership attaches great importance to its relations with Thailand, and hopes to boost them to higher levels.
"Thailand is the first country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that I visited since I became President of China, and an important aim of my visit is to demonstrate to the Thai government and people the importance China's new generation of leadership attached to its relations with Thailand," Hu said.
The five-point proposal includes: increasing exchanges of high-level visits and views on important issues; expanding economic and trade cooperation; promoting cooperation in the fields of culture, education and security; intensifying exchanges between legislatures, parties and non-governmental organizations; and strengthening cooperation on international and regional affairs.
Hu stressed that China backs a cooperation and dialogue mechanism among Asian nations proposed by Thailand and an anti-drug mechanism among China, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and India.
The Chinese president described Thailand as China's "good neighbor, good friend and good partner." He said the Sino-Thai relations have progressed in a steady and healthy way no matter how the world situation changes.
"China-Thailand relationship serves a good example for China's relations with its neighbors," Hu said. "We are glad to see that this relationship is becoming more and more important strategically."
Thaksin said he agrees upon Hu's five-point proposal as they showcase the level of cooperation between the two sides and will boost their cooperation in new areas.
He hailed China's first successful manned space flight, saying it is a pride of all people in Asia.
Thaksin said Thailand will continue adhering to the one-China policy firmly and develop cooperative ties with China in areas of politics, finance and trade.
Hu said APEC has contributed not only to regional economic cooperation, but also the economic development of Asia and the world as a whole. He highlighted the preparations that Thailand has made for the APEC economic leaders' meeting scheduled for Oct.20-21.
Following their meeting, Hu and Thaksin attended the signing ceremony of five documents on bilateral cooperation, including an agreement on establishing a joint committee on trade, investment and economic cooperation.
Also on Saturday, Hu met with President of the Thai Supreme Court Atthaniti Disatha-Amnarj. Hu said China hopes to learn from Thailand the practice in legislation and jurisdiction.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2003)
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