By Tan Xingyu

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Railway Symbolizes New Chapter in Chinese-Thai Friendship

By Tan Xingyu

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in Bangkok on December 19， 2014. After the meeting，China and Thailand signed a MOU on strengthening railway cooperation， and a MOU on agricultural product trade and cooperation.

As early as October 12， 2013， during his visit to Thailand， Premier Li Keqiang personally introduced the CRH to Thailand. Not only did he attend a China CRH Exposition with Thai government leaders， but，while addressing the Thai National Assembly sought to convince members to approve the China-Thailand high-speed rail project.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Tai counterpart， Prayuth Chan-ocha，recently exchanged congratulatory letters to mark the ofcial start of construction work on the China-Tailand Railway that perfectly summed up the project's importance.

Li wrote： “It meets the needs for development and serves the common interests ofChina and Tailand for the two countries... it is also signifcant for promoting regional connectivity.”

He went on to express the hope that the two sides would make persistent eforts for the smooth implementation of their railway cooperation - “to lay a solid foundation for timely opening of this‘great artery' connecting China， Laos and Tailand， so as to promote regional common development and our peoples'well-being.”

In his letter， Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha stressed the close cultural links between the two countries. He described the railway cooperation as an exemplary example of successful bilateral pragmatic cooperation laying “an important foundation for even closer bilateral cooperation in the future”. He believed that it would also promote Thailand's national competitiveness and contribute to regional economic development and prosperity.

The China-Thailand Rail project has gone through a number of twists and turns before reaching this point. Now， the time has finally become to turn the blueprint into reality that would not have been possible without the tenacious eforts of many people in both countries. Even more so， it has benefted from the commitment of the top national leaders in providing the strongest motivating force for such cooperation.

Not Plain Sailing

When talking about the Thai railway，the first impression for many Chinese might be the idyllic scene of two leading actors traveling by train to the northeastern mountain resort of Chiang Mai in the flm entitled Lost In Thailand. However， the reality is that most of the Tai rail network was built more than 100 years ago， with aging infrastructure and a poor safety record. A 200-km railroad journey currently takes more than fve hours， which can hardly be regarded as satisfactory.

The new project， based on Chinese technology， standards and equipment， will transform that embarrassing situation. It includes construction of the Nong Khai-Nakhon Ratchasima-Kaeng Khoi-Map Ta Phut Railway and the Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi Railway. An important contribution will be opening up northeastern Tailand to faster economic development.

The project is also an important component of the central route of the Trans-Asian Railway （TAR）， fully bringing into play Tailand's role of a regional transportation hub.

During his visits abroad， Premier Li Keqiang has ofen acted as a promoter for the sale of the technology and products of Chinese railway enterprises.

Data shows that， in 2014， Chinese enterprises undertook 348 foreign railway construction projects with a contract value of US$24.7 billion； they also exported locomotives and carriages worth US$3.74 billion.

Apart from the rising markets of ASEAN， Africa， Central and Eastern Europe， Latin America and South Asia，China is also positively striving for high-return orders from major developed countries. For example， the export of subway carriages to Boston was the first US project involving Chinese railway transportation equipment.

According to Anderson Chow， Head of Infrastructure Research Asia-Pacific，HSBC， China had accumulated much domestic experience in high-speed railway（CRH） construction， equipment manufacturing and operation that is now helping it obtain foreign orders.

As early as October 12， 2013， during his visit to Tailand， Premier Li Keqiang personally introduced the CRH to Thailand. Not only did he attend a China CRH Exposition with Thai government leaders，but， while addressing the Thai National Assembly sought to convince members to approve the China-Thailand high-speed rail project.

“Te Chinese side takes a positive attitude，” the Chinese Premier said in English as the first foreign government leader address the Assembly： “Vote for China-Tailand friendship！”

Thereafter， China and Thailand signed a MOU on strengthening railway cooperation. In regard to construction of the highspeed line from Nong Khai to Phachi， part of the cost incurred by China will be paid for through shipments of Thai agricultural products， a mode of cooperation that is now known as “high-speed railway for rice”.

Unfortunately， the plan foundered for some time due to the changes in the Thai political situation.

Promotion of Government Leaders

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang continued with his eforts， however. It was no coincidence， for example， that he met new Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on several occasions.

According to one calculation， since Premier Li took office， he mentioned railway cooperation at least 92 times， either at meetings or through telephone conversations with foreign dignitaries. Thai dignitaries often discussed railway cooperation with Premier Li， and the leader he met most often was Prayuth Chan-ocha（four occasions）.

On October 16， 2014， the two men were on the sidelines of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan. This was the first such encounter since the change in Thailand's political situation， which had originally led to suspension of railway cooperation.

According to media reports， Premier Li elaborated on the advantages of China-Thailand railway cooperation， and expressed the hope that the two governments would continue to revive the project.

On November 9， 2014， Prayuth Chanocha led his delegation to Beijing to attend the APEC Summit. Within a month， the two government leaders， symbolically wearing the same gray-tone tie without having any prior consultation on the matter， shook hands， eventually reaching a consensus on cooperation， and paving the way for resuming bilateral rail cooperation.

They not only revived the previous agreement， but also realized obvious “upgrading”. According to the new plan， the length of line will be increased by a big margin from the original 300 km up to 800 km， fully equipped with Chinese technology and meeting Chinese standards.

On December 23， 2014， Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha visited China's National Railway Control and Command Center and traveled on the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Train. That was the only other official activity arrangement on his schedule apart from meetings with China's State leaders Xi Jinping， Li Keqiang and Zhang Dejiang.

During the journey， Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha asked for paper from his entourage and drew a sketch of a railway network， explaining to the Chinese side the expectations of the Thai side for domestic railway construction and China-Tailand rail cooperation.

While the bullet train traveled at 306 km per hour， Prayuth Chan-ocha was invited to watch the LCD display screen.

“Didn't feel it at all，” he said. “I thought it was very slow. In fact， it was very fast and enjoyable.”