On the afternoon of April 12, 2002, Premier Zhu
Rongji met with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who
came to attend the first annual conference of Boao Forum for
Asia, at Boao, Hainan Province.
Zhu said that
Thaksin is the first foreign head of state to show his
willingness to attend the BFA and thanked him for his
support. Last year he and Thaksin exchanged visits and
reached consensus on further extending trade and economic
cooperation. Thanks to the efforts of the two sides, the
results of the visits have been implemented and Sino-Thai
friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation has seen
sustained progress.
Thaksin said that the Thai
government and he himself value unity and cooperation with
Asian countries, believing that Asia should have its due
status across the world. To this end, Thailand has proposed
the "Asia Cooperation Dialogue". While praising
China for its responsible attitude in playing a vital role
in Asia, Thaksin said Thailand supports the early
establishment of the ASEAN-China free trade zone and expects
more cooperation between Thailand and China in this
regard.
Zhu said that the proposal is positive
and in a correct direction. China is willing to join
Thailand to make concerted efforts for the cooperation and
prosperity of Asia. He said that Asian countries
are famous for their diversity and each area is
comparatively independent from the others. Therefore,
cooperation among Asian countries should be developed in
easy-to-difficult steps on the basis of reaching
comprehensive consensus.
On China-ASEAN free
trade zone, Zhu said that he reached consensus with the
leaders of ASEAN members, including Thaksin, last November
on the establishment of the zone and this is a major event
between China and ASEAN. He thinks the key to the
establishment of the China-ASEAN free trade zone is to grasp
opportunities and keep the momentum to start negotiations as
soon as possible. China is willing to further strengthen
coordination and cooperation with Thailand in this regard.