When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of Thailand met last week in Bangkok, China’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was one of the areas where they said their countries could help each other.
At a joint press conference, Li and Prayut said the two sides agreed to “promote the better alignment between [the Greater Bay Area] and Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor [EEC],” said China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Greater Bay Area, whose economic ambitions are probably best visualized in the iconic Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the world’s longest sea-crossing structure, comprises Hong Kong, Macao and some of China’s most vibrant cities along the southern coast and has a population of 70 million.
The EEC, on the other hand, is Thailand’s pilot project to boost the economic development of the country’s eastern seaboard. The Thai government hopes to turn the three provinces of Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong in the EEC into a leading ASEAN economic zone.
This is a perfect match, said a commentary published on haiwainet.cn, the overseas edition of the Party-run People’s Daily.
The two areas “enjoy the advantage of being complementary to each other,” said the author. The EEC has been developed to support fast growing industries and therefore is ready to host China’s high tech firms when they set their offices here, bringing Thailand much needed R&D personnel, said the author.
For China, Thailand could be the doorway to the rest of Southeast Asia, said the author. The Greater Bay Area offers “a big market and a lot of opportunities,” said the author. “When Thailand is connected with southern China, it can help bring in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the entire ASEAN region.”
China has been Thailand’s largest trade partner for six years and public opinion in Thailand welcome a closer relationship, said the author. With a possible partnership on the horizon between the EEC and the Greater Bay Area, “some good chemistry is bound to happen,” said the author.
Old Version
