Thailand first proposed the construction of high-speed rail, which originated from the visit of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck to China in 20 12. When he took the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed rail between Beijing and Tianjin, he felt the comfort and speed of the high-speed rail, which gave Yingluck the first plan to build the high-speed rail.
But at that time, Thailand's funds were still a big problem, so he thought of the plan of "rice for high-speed rail". China, as a big grain importer in the world, indicated that this cooperation could be considered, and the two sides also held some consultations. Unfortunately, due to Yingla's sudden stepping down, this matter was once stranded.
Until 20 14, in order to develop domestic economy and improve regional economic imbalance, the issue of building high-speed rail was once again raised by the Thai government. At this time, the countries competing for this project are not only China, but also the United States and Japan.
The United States and Japan have always considered themselves old-fashioned high-speed rail powers, which have not only increased their prices a lot, but also been arrogant. Naturally, Thailand, a country with relatively backward high-speed rail, was ignored.
Only China has been adhering to a win-win attitude, proceeding from the reality of Thailand and China, and conducting sincere consultations with Thailand with full sincerity.
Especially as the fastest developing country in the world today, China railway has only been used from scratch 100 years, and the process of counterattack from weak to strong has to be said to be a miracle.
At this time, the mileage of high-speed rail in China has exceeded 36,000 kilometers, ranking first in the world. At the same time, the cost of high-speed rail in China is lower than that of any other country, and some of them are only one third of its cost, but the time consumption is the shortest. With such a well-known strength, Thailand has to turn its attention to China, an "infrastructure madman".
China's sincerity and friendliness, especially its high quality and low price, are all seen by Thais. In 20 16, China and Thailand formally signed the project agreement of "rice for high-speed rail" in Beijing, with the cooperation amount of 75.2 billion yuan.
This not only solved the funding problem of high-speed rail construction in Thailand, but also solved the problem of rice export in Thailand, and at the same time realized the problem of rice import in China. It is really the best of both worlds, and everyone is happy.
This cooperation has a greater benefit for China, that is, through the cooperation with Thailand on high-speed rail projects, China's high-speed rail market in Southeast Asia has been opened.
As the saying goes, being kind to others will bring more returns. It is used to give people roses, leaving a lingering fragrance on their hands. The people of China are friendly to every friend who is friendly with us. Mutual benefit and win-win is our diplomatic principle. At the same time, when our friends encounter difficulties, we will spare no effort to lend a helping hand to help them tide over the difficulties.
In 2020, a sudden epidemic swept almost the whole earth, and Thailand was not spared. Under the raging epidemic, on the one hand, Thailand's economy suffered an unprecedented blow, on the other hand, Thailand's extreme lack of materials to fight the epidemic also caused local people to fall into extreme panic.
In the crisis, China was the first to step forward. He not only provided a lot of medical equipment and epidemic prevention materials to Thailand for free, but also sent medical technical teams and millions of COVID-19 vaccines to Thailand to help it tide over the difficulties.
Not only that, China also bought a large number of Thailand's fruits, agricultural products and other daily necessities with strong timeliness, actively helping Thailand boost demand and help Thailand's economy out of the predicament.
Today, under the influence of China's "One Belt, One Road" policy, Sino-Thai cooperation is deepening and the areas of cooperation between the two sides are broader. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin once said: Thailand and China are friends in need.
Just like a song says: when friends come, there is good wine; Here comes the jackal, with a shotgun. China has always been a friendly country, but China is also an attitude country. Our friendship is only for our friends. May the friendship between China and Thailand last forever!