Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-nukara and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed a joint visa exemption, effective from March 1, at a ceremony after their meeting in Bangkok.
Tourists visit the Big Buddha statue in Phuket, Thailand on July 3, 2023. Photo: Reuters
“This visa-free era will bring people-to-people exchanges to a new level,” Wang Yi said at a joint press conference.
China was the top source of tourism for Thailand, a key driver of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the number of Chinese tourists returning to Thailand has been slow.
“There will be a big increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand,” Wang said. The number of Chinese tourists to Thailand fell to 3.5 million last year from 11 million in 2019 before the pandemic.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing and Bangkok also pledged to speed up construction of the China-Thailand railway and cooperate in combating transnational crime.
Wang Yi and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also held talks in Bangkok on Friday and Saturday on issues including bilateral relations, Taiwan and Iran.
Mai Van (according to Reuters, CNA)
Source
Comment (0)